The apps and platforms being used can put users in real physical danger. Fear and real risk has driven communities to communicate and socialise online, and more recently on dating apps, where they have created vibrant and resilient hubs of connection. 40% of the respondents in our research stated that they use the apps to meet “like-minded people”. For many it’s a question of having access to a community that you’ve been blocked from. It’s important to remember how vital these apps are in certain countries: where meeting queer people isn’t as easy as going to a gay bar or other location. Drive for sex, love, intimacy, and association is stronger than fear of the risks Many of these arrests happened via entrapment through LGBTQ dating apps. This targeting of LGBTQ groups in the Middle East and North Africa reached a climax in September 2017 when more than 70 people were arrested based on their gender and sexual identities in Egypt after the rainbow flag was flown during a concert. Read more about our research methodology and responses from users in our summary report. Patterns of arrests and targeting ranged from entrapments – use of fake profiles on social media and dating apps – where an official poses as a user interested in a relationship to build a case against the user – to street checkpoint checks of mobile devices by police and infiltration of groups chats run by LGBTQ groups.
Local groups had been aware of this for a long time, but their calls for action had not been taken seriously enough. Despite technological revolution, the situation is not so different now: some traditional threats have simply developed digital equivalents.įollowing our research, we can see that the reality of how the apps were used was far more complex than geolocation tracking. Since, it has emerged that these apps are routinely used both by authorities and non-state actors to target members of the LGBTQ community.
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But limited investigation was done into the full methods used and the extent that LGBTQ groups were being targeted. 2014 saw stories about apps being used to entrap gay and trans users in Egypt through geolocation features. History shows widespread repression and marginalisation of LGBTQ people globally, with limited opportunities for safely connecting, organising, and meeting-up in public spaces. But as Grindr has become so closely associated with popular queer culture – you must be living under a heterosexual rock to have missed it – if you’re living in a country where laws penalise your gender and sexual identity, authorities know which apps to use to surveil you. Since Grindr (the first) began in 2009 we’ve been able to meet people based on their proximity to us. Since 2009, dating has been revolutionised by geolocation-based apps. Our partnership with Grindr for Equality and other LGBTQ dating apps demonstrates how human rights groups, activists and profit businesses need to work together to reduce the impact of repressive crackdowns on LGBTQ communities and mitigate human rights abuses. We began by alerting apps to how their products are used by authorities to surveil and harm their users and advising and working together on ideas of how they should change their products to better protect against this. Teaming up with Grindr and other dating apps used in the region, we’ve been looking at ways to stop the use of apps to harm individuals.
But worryingly, we’ve found that state authorities and homophobic non-state actors are also using these apps to monitor, entrap, threaten and prosecute LGBTQ communities.īut we didn’t stop there.
While the contexts in these countries differ enormously, we have found that LGBTQ communities in all three rely on apps to communicate, meet- or hook-up and fall in love. We at ARTICLE 19 have been investigating how popular dating apps are being used by LGBTQ people in Egypt, Lebanon and Iran. This is especially the case with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Queer (LGBTQ) communities online in the Middle East and North Africa. While these apps have become so widely used, they are also being misused and weaponised against communities in high-risk contexts. But, sadly it’s not always fun, games and aubergine emojis. Dating apps have truly revolutionised how we date, hook-up and even find love. If you’re reading this, you’ve probably tried a dating app or know people who have.