The Egyptian Ministry of Interior has launched a wide-ranging security campaign targeting several content creators on the social media platform TikTok. According to official statements published on the Ministry’s affiliated pages, the campaign has resulted in the arrest of at least eight individuals over the past two days.
The Ministry stated that the operation comes “in the context of monitoring what has been circulated on social media platforms, and following several complaints submitted against a female content creator.” It added that the published videos “include vulgar and pornographic language that contradicts societal values and constitute a misuse of social media platforms.” The Ministry also noted that some of the arrested individuals face additional charges related to “possession of narcotics and weapons.”
The security crackdown was preceded by multiple complaints filed last week with the Public Prosecution by several lawyers against TikTok content creators. Among them was a collective complaint signed by 32 lawyers against ten individuals, including eight women.
The story began in July, when a woman named Marwa Yousry appeared in video clips claiming to be related to former President Hosni Mubarak. In the videos, she accused an Egyptian actress and several other female content creators of involvement in organ trafficking.
Following these statements, security forces arrested Marwa Yousry after the actress in question filed an official complaint accusing her of defamation and spreading rumors about serious crimes such as organ trafficking via videos shared on social media platforms.
In her complaint, the actress noted that the young woman made severe accusations without providing any evidence, causing significant material and moral harm and contributing to the tarnishing of her public image.
Don’t miss: Balqas, Zagazig, Gerga, Imbaba: Deaths as Side Effects of Detention in Police Stations
Moral Accusations Take Center Stage
A few days after the arrest of Marwa Yousry, the Ministry of Interior launched a security campaign targeting several individuals mentioned in the videos previously posted by Yousry. In those clips, she alleged that some of them were supporting a well-known actress whom she accused of being involved in organ trafficking.
However, the Ministry’s official statements made no mention of these allegations. Instead, the charges were limited to common offenses such as “public indecency,” “threatening family values,” and “misuse of social media”—the same accusations frequently used in Egypt to prosecute digital content creators.
In this context, journalist and researcher on economic and social affairs Mona Ezzat noted that a young woman named Marwa had recently appeared making what she described as serious claims—including affiliating herself with a well-known political figure and accusing specific individuals of grave crimes. In Ezzat’s view, such statements should warrant a transparent official investigation.
Speaking to Zawia3, Ezzat said: “What actually happened was shocking; instead of investigating those unprecedented allegations, the charges against the individuals mentioned were limited to (public indecency), (morality violations), and (threats to family values)—generic accusations that have been repeatedly used against content creators and have no direct connection to Marwa’s claims.”
She added: “We’re facing a concerning situation, where the original accusations weren’t treated seriously. Instead, we’ve fallen back into a familiar, repetitive pattern, using ready-made legal formulas to target those producing non-conventional content.”
Ezzat argues that had the authorities genuinely decided to investigate Marwa’s statements, it would have been expected to conduct inquiries into sources of income, lifestyle patterns, and perhaps the social circles of those mentioned. But she noted: “So far, we’ve seen nothing of the sort.”
She concluded her statement by saying: “If the Public Prosecution—or any competent authority—has determined that Marwa’s claims are entirely false, then a clear public statement should have been issued to clarify that. And if her claims are true, then we should be witnessing real investigations. What the public needs now is transparency and clarity: Are there actual investigations into Marwa’s allegations? Or are we simply witnessing a recycled legal path used whenever digital content clashes with prevailing social norms?”
A Renewed Pattern of Targeting TikTok Content Creators
In a press release, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) stated that the recent security crackdown on TikTok content creators represents the peak of a long-standing trajectory of repression that began more than five years ago. The Initiative described this trajectory as reflecting a deep-seated hostility from the state and its security and legal apparatuses toward this form of expression—rooted in classist, gendered, and moral standards, most of which lack clear legal definitions.
The statement traced the beginning of this pattern to April 2020, when Haneen Hossam—then one of the most prominent TikTok users—was arrested on charges of belonging to an “international human trafficking ring.” That case, according to the statement, marked the launch of a continuous campaign against digital content and personal expression, during which Article 25 of the Anti-Cybercrime Law (Law No. 175 of 2018) was frequently used to issue sweeping charges like “public indecency” and “violating family values.” The Initiative described this article as having become a key tool for criminalizing freedom of expression in Egypt.
The statement also noted the ongoing use of the slogan “Let it be cleansed” (“خليها تنضف”)—first circulated at the start of these campaigns in 2020—as a rallying cry for waves of mass arrests. These have often been fueled by bouts of “moral panic,” at times under claims of human trafficking, and at others by allegations of organ trade, all without public investigations or published evidence.
According to EIPR’s documentation, this campaign has affected at least 151 individuals across 109 separate cases—cases for which the organization has either provided legal support or directly reviewed court documents. It emphasized that the actual number is likely much higher.
The statement added that the scope of targeting has gradually expanded—from an initial focus on women and female content creators on TikTok, to the prosecution of individuals expressing religious views that differ from official religious discourse, or those suspected of their sexual orientation, and even minors and individuals charged based on private content never shared publicly.
The Initiative highlighted that Article 25 is no longer applied to a specific demographic, but now encompasses citizens from various backgrounds—within a legal framework that criminalizes expression without clear standards or proof of an actual crime.
EIPR also partly blamed the Public Prosecution’s official discourse, which, since 2020, has called on citizens—through posts on Facebook—to report “unacceptable content.” According to the statement, this has entrenched a culture of social surveillance and encouraged individuals, including lawyers, to systematically monitor and report digital content.
Speaking to Zawia3, human rights lawyer Halim Henish stated that the latest campaign reflects a deeper crisis in the state’s security and political mindset. He said: “Anyone who expresses their opinion in a protest is imprisoned. Anyone who complains about prices on TikTok is imprisoned. Anyone who creates content that the authorities disapprove of is imprisoned. It’s as if the only solution on the table is the iron fist—even in spaces that should be arenas for free expression, not crime.”
Henish pointed out that much of the content labeled as “immoral” or “damaging to society’s image” does not rise to the level of criminality, and could be addressed through less extreme measures—such as issuing warnings, removing the content, or contacting the platform—instead of immediately resorting to criminal charges.
He continued: “My second concern involves the complaints filed by certain lawyers. A lawyer is supposed to be a guardian of rights and freedoms—not a tool for incitement against individuals over entertainment or expressive content that carries no criminal nature.”
Henish also noted that the absence of clear legal definitions for terms like “modesty” or “family values” leads to sharp social inconsistencies, as content might be deemed offensive in one city but entirely acceptable in another—highlighting the fragility of the legal basis for such accusations.
He concluded his remarks by emphasizing that these incitement campaigns and complaints don’t happen in a vacuum; they are often orchestrated by the same groups that attack refugees, political dissidents, and promote sectarian rhetoric. He added: “What’s especially troubling this time is the involvement of individuals who identify as human rights defenders in these campaigns. If being a rights defender means defending freedom of expression, then how can such individuals become instruments of moral and legal pressure against citizens just because their views don’t align with their own? It’s a dangerous paradox.”
Don’t miss: Women in Egypt’s Prisons: Bodies Without Rights
A Campaign Led by Morality-Enforcing Lawyers
The recent campaign—dubbed “The Purge”—included the active involvement of several lawyers who played a prominent role in escalating the crackdown on social media content creators. They launched a broad offensive across digital platforms and submitted formal complaints to investigative authorities demanding the arrest and prosecution of those accused of “offending family values” and “publishing indecent content.”
Among the lawyers leading the recent wave of complaints, one name stood out: Ahmed Mehran, Director of the Cairo Center for Political and Legal Studies and a member of the Freedoms Committee of the Bar Association. Mehran is known for his controversial stances, both in court and in media appearances. In 2022, he sparked public outrage after defending Mohamed Adel, the convicted killer of university student Naira Ashraf. Mehran called for donations to pay blood money on Adel’s behalf, in an effort to save him from execution—an initiative that provoked sharp criticism from the public.
That wasn’t his first controversy. In 2021, Mehran publicly advocated for what became known as “part-time marriage,” a form of temporary partial marriage. The Egyptian Dar al-Ifta (Fatwa Authority) swiftly rejected the proposal, condemning it as “a destabilization of societal values and a publicity stunt dressed in modern, meaningless terminology.”
Over the years, Mehran has consistently presented himself as a defender of “community values” and the “identity of the Egyptian family,” filing repeated complaints against those he sees as threatening the country’s “moral security.”
Another key figure is Counselor Ashraf Farahat, a cassation lawyer and one of the most visible legal faces behind the judicial persecution of content creators in Egypt. He was among the first to file official complaints against several “TikTok celebrities” as part of a campaign he titled “Purifying Society.” Farahat has played a major role in the recent crackdown on TikTok content creators.
Farahat’s legal activism began with politically and security-oriented cases, such as calling for the banning of the April 6 Movement and designating it a “terrorist entity,” as well as seeking to ban football ultras groups. He also filed complaints against public figures like Hamdeen Sabahi and Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh. But over time, his focus shifted toward moral and cultural persecution, targeting artists and influencers for alleged “indecent acts” or “public indecency.”
He has filed complaints against high-profile figures, including actress Rania Youssef over a dress she wore at the Cairo International Film Festival, and singer Ahmed Saad after a video in which he criticized economic conditions. He also led a series of complaints against “TikTok girls” such as Haneen Hossam and Mawada Eladhm, accusing them of “undermining societal values” and “spreading debauchery.”
Aziza El-Tawil, a human rights lawyer at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, described the so-called “purge campaign” led by lawyers through mass complaints against content creators as “both unfortunate and shameful.”
Speaking to Zawia3, El-Tawil said: “It’s painful to see some lawyers—who are supposed to be defenders of freedom—become instruments of repression, hiding behind vague slogans like ‘preserving morals’ or ‘protecting the family.’ A lawyer’s role is to defend rights, not to police people’s choices of expression.”
She continued: “What’s more disturbing is that this clampdown isn’t only coming from the state apparatus, but is increasingly backed by a wave of public anger that demands the ‘cleansing’ of society and the exclusion of entire groups—using rhetoric that claims to uphold values. This kind of language, full of glittering terms about morality and purity, reminds us more of the Inquisition than of a modern legal state.”
El-Tawil warned that what’s happening poses “a dual threat—legal and societal,” cautioning that “if this path continues, we may end up with a model of selective justice, where the law becomes a tool of political and moral punishment, rather than a means of protecting rights and ensuring justice.”
In the same context, the Foundation for Law and Democracy Support issued a statement warning that the Egyptian authorities’ lax approach to hisbah cases at times, and active use of them at others, has turned them into “a sword hanging over the necks of opinion-holders, content creators, and artists”—a tool for intimidation and persecution in an environment where laws are weaponized to silence dissent.
The statement added that what makes this situation more dangerous is the “transformation of hisbah into a profession for those seeking fame,” noting that “some lawyers have dedicated themselves to tracking online content and submitting mass complaints under moral pretexts, acting as self-appointed guardians of Egyptian society, dictating what is and isn’t acceptable to watch or circulate.”
It continued: “Instead of simply choosing not to watch content they find inappropriate, these individuals resort to legal instruments to suppress freedom of expression and creativity—behavior that has no place in a democratic society or a state that respects pluralism.”
On the other hand, human rights lawyer Hala Douma commented on the wave of complaints and accusations against content creators in Egypt, telling Zawia3: “Legally speaking, any individual has the right to file a complaint against another. It’s the job of law enforcement to collect preliminary evidence and present it to the Public Prosecution, which then decides whether legal action is warranted—such as issuing arrest warrants—or whether the complaint should be dismissed.”
Douma added that the recent cases tied to the crackdown on digital content creators remain shrouded in ambiguity: “So far, the available information—whether from Interior Ministry statements or media coverage—is insufficient to form a comprehensive legal opinion. We don’t know exactly what evidence has been presented or whether the alleged offenses meet the legal criteria for criminal charges.”
She emphasized the serious implications of what’s happening on social media, saying: “It’s troubling that many online users are violating the presumption of innocence—a fundamental legal principle—by engaging in behaviors that may legally amount to incitement, defamation, or slander, all directed at individuals who haven’t been convicted in any court. Some posts even call for physical harm against detainees, or circulate unverified images and claims. This doesn’t just violate the rights of the accused—it undermines the integrity of justice itself.”
Meanwhile, MP Ahmed Badawi, head of the Telecommunications Committee in Egypt’s House of Representatives, announced in a press statement that the committee had held several meetings with representatives from TikTok Egypt before the most recent parliamentary session concluded. The meetings aimed to “improve published content,” with Badawi affirming the state’s support for investment in the tech sector—but also warning that the platform could be banned and subjected to Egypt’s Cybercrime Law if no “significant improvement” occurs.
This warning falls under Article 7 of Law No. 175/2018, which grants investigative authorities the right to order the blocking of websites that publish “phrases, images, videos, or similar content” that constitute crimes under the law and “pose a threat to national security or the economy.”
According to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, Badawi’s statements echo what happened in 2020, when Egyptian officials held meetings with representatives from BIGO, the company that owns the Likee app, in the presence of the Chinese ambassador to Cairo—coinciding with a large-scale crackdown on content creators using that platform.
