Egyptian police using fake Grindr account to arrest LGBTQ+ community, says app
Grindr
A popular social networking app for gays, Grindr, has issued a warning to its users in Egypt after reports emerged that police are using fake accounts to persecute the LGBTQ+ community.
This warning pops up in Arabic and English whenever users in Egypt open the application.
“We have been alerted that Egyptian police is actively making arrests of gay, bi, and trans people on digital platforms. They are using fake accountsand have also taken over accounts from real community members who have already been arrested and had their phones taken.”
The alert from Grindr comes after a report from global NGO Human Rights Watch in February claimed that authorities in multiple countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including Egypt, are using fake accounts to entrap and arrest LGBTQ people.
Though Egypt doesn’t technically outlaw homosexual relations, authorities have been accused of blindly using “public morality” or “debauchery” laws to arrest members of the LGBTQ+ community in the country. In a 2021 report, the US State Department acknowledged violence targeting the LGBTQ community in Egypt.
“LGBTQ people have long faced discrimination in Egypt, but police efforts have increased in recent weeks, Patrick Lenihan, head of global communications for Grindr, told The Washington Post on Friday.
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He said that Grindr has sent similar warnings to users in 90 countries.
“[Grindr is] pushing international organizations and governments to demand justice and safety for the Egyptian LGBTQ community,” Lenihan was quoted as saying.
The California-based dating apprecently came under heavy criticism in the US and was fined in Norway over its privacy policy. It has been accused of sharing personal data with third parties that could potentially identify users.
But the company maintains that its privacy policy aims to protect user data. It adds that its goal “is to put you in control of as much of the Personal Information that you share within the Grindr Properties as possible.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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