Social Media and Online Freedoms Are Under Attack in the Middle East and North Africa
Over the past decade, social media usage in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has grown significantly. However, alongside this rapid adoption of digital technologies there has been an alarming tightening of online creative and political freedoms. In many countries across the region, social media is facing various threats that curtail freedom of expression and restrict access to information.
One major concern is the amount of social media influencers and content creators that have faced increasing restrictions and legal consequences for their online activities. Cases like that of Haneen Hossam, an Egyptian TikTok star sentenced to three years in jail and a fine of $200,000, exemplify the challenges faced by individuals who express themselves creatively on social platforms. Similar cases of charges related to "indecency," as was the case with Tala Safwan in Saudi Arabia, and "promoting immoral content," as was the case with Ibram Malik in Egypt, have emerged at an alarming rate. These actions not only limit artistic expression but also instill fear among online creators, who fear having their content used against them as a thinly veiled excuse for government overreach and control.
Attacks and arrests on journalists and bloggers who are critical of political leaders have also exploded in recent years. Adnan Al-Rousan, a 71-year-old journalist who criticized the King of Jordan on bail, wrote that Jordanians "are silent and stifled by anger, waiting for the king to reform himself and abandon festivals, films, trips and conferences and focus on the country.” He was then accused of "inciting conflict, sowing division [...] spreading false news that harm the prestige of the state, slandering an official body and humiliating a civil servant." Physical attacks on journalists, such as the assault on reporter Ebru Uzun Oruç and her cameraman in Turkey, have also exploded—and have been perpetrated more and more often by agents of the political state rather than individuals or bad actors.
Authoritarian regimes are well-known to limit access to social media platforms. Iran, for instance, has consistently restricted access to platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp. China, though outside of the area, is one of the more infamous examples of a society that controls access to major social media platforms, sometimes with the specific intention of keeping people cut off from organizing with each other. Jordan is currently employing this tactic by temporarily banning TikTok after protests about fuel price hikes. The subsequent lack of clarity on when the ban will be lifted points to an ulterior motive and a possible lifetime ban.
And then there’s platform manipulation. Several countries, including Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, are deploying cyber armies to control narratives both domestically and abroad by flooding social media with misinformation as well as disinformation. Meta recently removed a network of fake accounts originating in Iran that was targeting Scottish voters in support of Scottish independence. These efforts influence user perceptions and shape public opinion, and introduce distrust of independent media in favor of misinformation meant to play on people’s inherent biases. BBC News has also reported that Iranian agents have attempted to bribe Instagram content moderators to strike down accounts of journalists and activists.
Moreover, more and more laws that further impede media freedom are showing up in the region. Turkey's adoption of a law penalizing the spread of disinformation raises concerns about freedom of expression, as it lacks a clear definition of false or misleading information, and could easily be used as a tool to jail journalists who work against the Erdogan administration’s poor human rights record. Similarly, proposed legislation in Israel could grant authorities the power to remove any social media content deemed inciting or harmful, potentially affecting news sites and online platforms.
The MENA region's use of social media has been accompanied by a growing threat to online freedoms. These trends underscore the need to protect freedom of expression and ensure that social media remains a space for open dialogue, creativity, and the exchange of ideas. Efforts to safeguard online freedoms must continue to enable the MENA region's users to fully benefit from the potential of social media platforms.
