Saudi state media issued an explicit warning that it is a criminal offense to “insult” authorities using social media apps like Snapchat, the California-based messaging app whose chief executive officer recently forged a new “cooperation” deal with the kingdom’s culture ministry.
The threat – which was originally televised in April and then deleted – has gained new resonance as more cases emerge in which Snapchat users and influencers in the kingdom have been arrested by authorities and, in some cases, sentenced to decades-long prison sentences.
Snapchat is a social media app that lets users communicate and easily send messages and photographs. On its website, the company says it “contributes to human progress by empowering people to express themselves”. Its ties to the kingdom date back to 2018, when Saudi financier Prince Alwaleed bin Talal invested $250m in the company, a 2.3% stake.
Saudi court documents examined by the Guardian suggest that at least one Saudi Snapchat user, Manahel al-Otaibi, was arrested late last year after posting a picture privately on Snapchat that showed her not wearing an abaya, leading to charges that she was dressed indecently. It is not clear how Saudi authorities accessed the picture.
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In another case, Saudi Snapchat influencer Mansour Al-Raqiba, who has more than 2 million followers, was arrested in May 2022 in connection to his social media posts in which he suggested he had previously criticised Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 economic plan for the kingdom and had been blackmailed as a result. A person familiar with the case said Raqiba had been sentenced to 27 years in jail.
In another recent case, Snapchat influencer Rahaf Al-Qahtani’s was reportedly arrested after posting comments that were deemed offensive to the people of the Maldives, allegedly running afoul of a Saudi law that prohibits individuals from damaging Saudi relations with its allies.
Some Saudi dissidents have privately expressed concerns about the privacy of Snapchat content in the kingdom. The company’s website states that it may “at its discretion” provide Snapchat account records to law enforcement and governmental agencies outside the US in response to a legal process that is authorised in the requesting country if the request is not related to content, such as “basic subscriber information” and “IP data”.
The stark warning for Saudi social media users came last year when state-run media interviewed a man who was in jail for posting a single apparently innocent tweet that was considered a criticism of the kingdom, and therefore illegal.
The news segment was recorded and reposted by human rights group ALQST after it was removed by the broadcaster.
Saudis dissidents living outside the kingdom said the segment represented a clear warning to viewers to refrain from posting any criticism or comment that could be…
2023-06-05 04:48:31
Link from www.theguardian.com
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