Context News: Wikipedia Middle East editors ban shows risks for creators. “Rights groups have accused the Saudi Arabian government of ‘infiltrating’ and seeking to control Wikipedia, after the Wikimedia Foundation banned 16 users for engaging in ‘conflict of interest editing’ in the Middle East and North Africa.”
The Guardian: Saudi prosecutors seek death penalty for academic over social media use. “A prominent pro-reform law professor in Saudi Arabia is facing the death penalty for alleged crimes including having a Twitter account and using WhatsApp to share news considered ‘hostile’ to the kingdom, according to court documents seen by the Guardian.”
Reuters: Ex-Twitter worker gets 3-1/2-year U.S. prison term for spying for Saudi Arabia. “A former Twitter Inc manager convicted of spying for Saudi Arabia by sharing user data several years ago and potentially exposing users to persecution was sentenced to 3-1/2 years in prison on Wednesday, U.S. prosecutors said.”
The New Arab: Saudi Arabia: Woman receives 45 years prison sentence over social media use. “A Saudi court has sentenced a woman to 45 years in prison for allegedly damaging the country through her social media activity, according to a court document obtained on Wednesday. It was the second such sentence that has drawn scrutiny of the kingdom this month.”
The Guardian: British judge rules dissident can sue Saudi Arabia for Pegasus hacking. “A British judge has ruled that a case against the kingdom of Saudi Arabia brought by a dissident satirist who was targeted with spyware can proceed, a decision that has been hailed as precedent-setting and one that could allow other hacking victims in Britain to sue foreign governments who order such attacks.”
New York Times: Twitter Worker Accused of Spying for Saudi Arabia Heads to Trial. “While working at Twitter from 2013 to 2015, Ahmad Abouammo was responsible for helping celebrities, journalists and other notable figures in the Middle East promote their Twitter accounts. He handled requests for Twitter’s coveted blue verification badges and arranged tours of the San Francisco headquarters. But the Justice Department says he misused his access to Twitter user data, gathering the personal information of political dissidents and passing it to Saudi Arabia in exchange for a luxury watch and hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Deutsche Welle: Google’s data plans in Saudi Arabia ‘will risk lives’: activists. “Internet giant Google is creating a ‘cloud region’ in Saudi Arabia. It says it will protect users there. But digital rights activists argue the firm will be putting the lives of government critics at risk.”
Saudi Gazette: Non-Saudis banned from publishing ads on social media. “The General Commission for Audiovisual Media has issued a circular banning non-Saudis from publishing advertisements on the social media. The commission noted that the practice of posting ads on social media by those who do not have a license for it is a violation of Saudi Arabia’s Labor Law, as well as the rules for dealing with expatriates.”
The Register: Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia are top sources of online misinformation . “Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia are the top three proliferators of state-linked Twitter misinformation campaigns, according to a report released Wednesday by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI).”
Zawya: Saudi Justice Ministry launches new digital platform. “The platform will allow the public, including parties of the case and lawyers, easy access to final commercial rulings issued by courts of the first instance, courts of appeal, and the Supreme Court, in addition to other legal documents.” There’s a section on “justice systems,” that’s in English, but the rest of the site is in Arabic. Google Translate handles it for the most part.
Albidad: How women on social media led a nutrition and fitness revolution in Saudi Arabia. “Five years ago, preschool teacher Nawal AlKalawi decided for the first time to create an Instagram account—she wanted to post a simple recipe for homemade banana muffins. A few hours later, that first post had more likes and comments than she could ever imagine…. Before long, her ‘Food Evaluation’ account had more than 16,000 followers, and she was also active on Snapchat and other platforms. Her efforts were changing the habits of whole families. Clearly, parents in Saudi Arabia were hungry for health information.”
Arab News: Fraudulent ad promoters on social media could face hefty fines, jail in Saudi Arabia. “Those who promote and advertise fraudulent goods on social media sites have been warned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Prosecution that they could face up to three years in prison or a SR1 million ($267,000) fine, or both.”
Arab News: A digital library offers Saudis affordable access to scholarly research. “Academic literature is usually hidden behind expensive paywalls or restricted to those who are affiliated with big organizations. Now Zendy, developed by Knowledge E, is offering users affordable access to scholarly works from around the world. In step with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 development agenda and its efforts to foster a culture of research, innovation and entrepreneurship, Zendy will give students, professionals and hobbyists access to thousands of articles, e-books and scholarly resources.”
Israel Hayom: Google plans Israel-Saudi Arabia link in massive fiber-optic project. “The underwater cable project, called Blue Raman route after Indian physicist Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, will be more than 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles) long and is expected to cost $400 million. If completed, the network would mark the first time two nations with no formal diplomatic ties will be linked directly as part of an internet infrastructure project.”
Twitter Blog: Disclosing networks to our state-linked information operations archive. “Today we are disclosing five distinct networks of accounts to our archive of state-linked information operations. The accounts that we have published in our archive today – the only archive of its kind in the industry – include independent information operations that we have attributed to Iran, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Thailand and Russia.”
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