Lawsuit Alleges Ex-Twitter Employees Were Saudi Spies and Got Dissident Kidnapped

In a recent shocking lawsuit, former Twitter employees have been accused of spying on behalf of Saudi Arabia, resulting in the kidnap, torture, and imprisonment of a Saudi dissident.

The lawsuit claims that Twitter was part of a “Saudi criminal enterprise”, with ex-employees allegedly leaking personal data of political dissenters to Saudi Arabian agents.

This serious breach of privacy and security has raised concerns about Twitter’s ability to protect its users and uphold its own policies.

Abdulrahman Al-Sadhan: A Victim of Twitter’s Security Failures?

The lawsuit centres around Abdulrahman Al-Sadhan, a Saudi-born critic of the Saudi royal family, who operated an anonymous Twitter account.

In 2018, Al-Sadhan was reportedly kidnapped, tortured, and arrested, events the lawsuit links to information leaked by two ex-Twitter employees.

The employees, allegedly acting as spies for the Saudi government, provided personal data, including IP addresses and birthdates, of approximately 6,000 users to Saudi Arabian agents.

In exchange, they received around $300,000 and luxury gifts.

Ahmad Abouammo, one of the accused spies, has recently been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for espionage.

According to Areej Al-Sadhan, Abdulrahman’s sister and the filer of the lawsuit, Twitter flagrantly violated its terms and conditions by handing over her brother’s personal information to the Saudi government.

“This puts every Twitter user at risk”, she said.

Since raising her voice against Saudi repression, Areej has herself become a target of Saudi Arabia’s online harassers.

The lawsuit alleges multiple security failures at Twitter, enabling the Saudi Arabian agents to stifle political dissent.

It accuses Twitter of violating its terms of service, including the promise not to share private user information and the pledge to preserve personal information if it believed necessary to protect a user’s safety.

Twitter’s Struggles with Foreign Spies: A Growing Problem

Twitter’s issue with foreign government spies extends beyond this lawsuit.

Last year, Peiter Zatko, a former Twitter head of security turned whistleblower, claimed that the Chinese and Indian governments had also placed spies inside the company.

His whistleblower complaint to Congress highlighted serious security issues at Twitter, including employees having too much access to user data.

This lawsuit adds to the ongoing scrutiny of Twitter’s privacy and security practices.

The implications are far-reaching, affecting the trust and safety of users, the company’s reputation, and its legal obligations.

Given the seriousness of the allegations, this case warrants close attention as it unfolds, and it underscores the importance of robust cybersecurity measures in today’s digital world.

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