Meta, Grindr 'not doing enough' to safeguard LGBTQ people: Human Rights Watch

Tech companies were urged by Human Rights Watch (HRW)to do more to safeguard LGBTQ communities against "digital targeting" by government officials in Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, Egypt, and Iraq.

The Middle East has a pervasive problem with discrimination against LGBTQ people, and even in countries where homosexuality is not legally forbidden, it is frequently penalised under ambiguous laws that forbid "debauchery," "prostitution," or "cybercrime."

The New York-based rights group documented instances of security forces' online entrapment in a 135-page study, which resulted in the "arbitrary detention and torture" of LGBTQ people in the area.

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"The authorities in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Tunisia have integrated technology into their policing of LGBT people," Rasha Younes, senior researcher at HRW, told AFP on Tuesday (February 21).

Digital platforms like Meta (Facebook, Instagram), and Grindr, according to the research, "are not doing enough to protect individuals exposed to digital targeting."

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HRW advised "human rights due diligence" and more Arabic content control.

A method known as "catfishing" was used in 20 incidents of "online entrapment by security personnel" in Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan, according to the study.

(With inputs from agencies)

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