Tunisia influencers sentenced to jail over content

Four influencers on Instagram and TikTok have been sentenced to jail in Tunisia for content authorities deemed immoral, local media reported on Wednesday.

The Business News outlet said an Instagrammer known as Lady Samara, with around one million followers, was sentenced to three years and two months in prison on Tuesday.

TikToker Khoubaib received four years and six months, while Instagrammer Afifa was sentenced to a year and six months and her husband Ramzi to three years and six months.

On 31 October, as part of the same investigation, an Instagrammer known as Choumoukh was sentenced to four and a half years' jail on similar charges.

The private radio station Mosaique FM also reported a series of sentences ranging from 18 months to four and a half years, without identifying those being sent to prison.

It said they were being prosecuted for "public indecency, dissemination of content contrary to good morals or adopting immoral positions, using inappropriate language or adopting inappropriate behaviour that undermines moral and social values and risks negatively influencing the behaviour of young users of these platforms".

The investigation was opened after the justice ministry on 27 October urged prosecutors to "take necessary judicial measures and launch investigations against anyone producing, displaying or publishing data, images, and video clips with content that undermines moral values".

The decision sparked widespread debate, both on social media and in the media.

Some internet users condemned the spread of crude language and obscene images on social media, while others saw the move as a new restriction on freedoms.

Online magazine Nawaat, which frequently criticises the Tunisian government, said the arrests come amid "a climate marked by repressive restrictions on freedoms".

"Following the systematic dismantling of judicial power, the prosecution of opponents and journalists, and the repression of civil society, social media influencers -- regardless of the quality of their content -- are now in the regime's crosshairs," said an article.

Tunisia's opposition and civil society have condemned what they call an "authoritarian drift" by President Kais Saied, who was re-elected on October 6 with a sweeping majority but low turnout.