Teens Kiss in Morocco, All the Adults Freak Out

A pair of teenagers in Morocco were arrested earlier this week for violating public decency after posting a photo of themselves kissing on Facebook. The photo caused all the pearls to be clutched in the small, northeastern town of Nador, and the teens, along with their friend who took the picture, are scheduled to appear before a juvenile court next week.

The BBC reports that the kissing couple — a 15-year-old and 14-year-old — had their classmate take their picture outside of their school in Nador. By the inscrutable machinations of modern technology, the picture found its way onto Facebook, then, a little while later, into a newspaper, where it could be properly gasped over by adults. Several mosque preachers have taken kissgate as an opportunity to wag their fingers at parents for not keeping closer watch over their children, but at least a few people like Ibtissame Lachgar, co-founder of the Alternative Movement for Individual Liberties (MALI), have voiced support for the couple and their friend. Lachgar has launched a campaign to post a million copycat photos online in support of the teens.