Social media giant X faces lawsuit for allegedly assisting Saudi Arabia in human rights abuses

The social media giant formerly known as Twitter, now referred to as X, faces a revised civil lawsuit in the US that accuses it of aiding Saudi Arabia in committing severe human rights violations against its users. This includes allegations of disclosing confidential user data to Saudi authorities at a significantly higher rate than for other countries such as the US, UK, or Canada. 

According to The Guardian, the lawsuit was originally filed in May by Areej al-Sadhan, the sister of a Saudi aid worker who was forcibly disappeared and later sentenced to 20 years in prison. The case revolves around the infiltration of Twitter by three Saudi agents, two of whom posed as Twitter employees in 2014 and 2015. This infiltration led to the arrest of al-Sadhan’s brother, Abdulrahman, and the exposure of the identities of thousands of anonymous Twitter users, some of whom were reportedly detained and tortured as part of the Saudi government’s crackdown on dissent. 

The updated lawsuit alleges that Twitter, under the leadership of then-CEO Jack Dorsey, knowingly ignored or had knowledge of the Saudi government’s campaign to identify critics but provided assistance due to financial considerations and its close ties to the Saudi government, a major investor in the company. 

The lawsuit highlights how Twitter was initially seen as a tool for democratic movements during the Arab Spring, which raised concerns for the Saudi government as early as 2013. 

These allegations come shortly after Human Rights Watch criticised a Saudi court for sentencing a man to death solely based on his Twitter and YouTube activity. The convicted individual, Muhammad al-Ghamdi, had minimal online presence and was accused of having two accounts with a few followers and tweets, both containing retweets of government critics. 

The lawsuit claims that Twitter was aware of security risks related to insider access to personal data and ignored red flags. It also alleges that Saudi authorities filed emergency disclosure requests with Twitter to obtain user identity information, often approved promptly. 

Between July and December 2015, Twitter allegedly granted information requests to Saudi Arabia more frequently than to other countries, including Canada, the UK, Australia, and Spain. 

Despite becoming aware of FBI concerns about Saudi infiltration, Twitter continued to engage with Saudi Arabia as a crucial regional partner. CEO Jack Dorsey even met with Mohammed bin Salman about six months after the FBI raised the issue. 

The lawsuit ultimately seeks justice for Areej al-Sadhan’s brother, Abdulrahman, and aims to hold Twitter accountable for its alleged complicity in human rights abuses.