A warning has been issued to users of Grindr in Egypt as police are reportedly impersonating community members to target LGBTQ individuals. The police are creating fake accounts and have taken over the accounts of real community members who have been arrested and had their phones confiscated. Grindr is urging its users to be cautious both online and offline. Homosexuality is technically not outlawed in Egypt, but members of the LGBTQ community are often prosecuted on the grounds of ‘debauchery’ or ‘violating public decency.’ Human Rights Watch has documented dozens of cases of security agencies in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Tunisia extorting, harassing, publicly outing, and detaining LGBTQ people based on their activities on social media and dating apps. Grindr is working with groups on the ground in Egypt to make sure its users have up-to-date information on how to stay safe, while also pushing international organizations and governments to demand justice and safety for the Egyptian LGBTQ community.
LGBTQ dating app Grindr warns users in Egypt of police impersonation and arrests
Grindr, a popular gay social networking app, issued a warning to its users in Egypt on Friday, cautioning them of police impersonation of community members to target LGBTQ individuals. The police are reportedly using fake accounts and have even taken over the accounts of real community members who have been arrested and had their phones confiscated. The app is urging its users to take extra caution both online and offline, including with accounts that may have seemed legitimate in the past.
Even though homosexuality is technically not outlawed in Egypt, the country frequently prosecutes members of the LGBTQ community on the grounds of ‘debauchery’ or ‘violating public decency.’ The arrests of homosexuals and non-gender conforming individuals remain common, and in 2017, seven people were arrested for raising a rainbow flag at a rock concert. The Egyptian government media officer did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Grindr’s new measure.
The warning comes after reports of authorities in the wider region increasingly using digital platforms to crack down on the LGBTQ community. Human Rights Watch released a report in February documenting dozens of cases of security agencies in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Tunisia extorting, harassing, publicly outing, and detaining LGBTQ people based on their activities on Facebook, Instagram, and Grindr. The publication also questioned major tech companies for not investing sufficiently in Arabic language content moderation and protection.
Grindr, a California-based app for the gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community, is working with groups on the ground in Egypt to make sure its users have up-to-date information on how to stay safe. The app is also pushing international organizations and governments to demand justice and safety for the Egyptian LGBTQ community. The app has faced criticism in the US and was fined in Norway for sharing personal data with third parties that could potentially identify users. The company’s privacy policy outlines how it uses and aims to protect user data, with the goal of putting users in control of as much of the Personal Information that they share within the Grindr Properties as possible.
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