As the kingdom faces criticism for its efforts to crack down on dissent, a former employee of the social media site was convicted of giving the government of Saudi Arabia information about regime critics on social media.
There is a sign on the side of the building.
The jury in San Francisco found Ahmad Abouammo guilty of acting as an agent of a foreign government, but acquitted him on five other wire fraud counts.
In a two-week trial that ended Thursday, prosecutors alleged that Abouammo accepted cash payments and a luxury watch in exchange for looking up email addresses, phone numbers and other private data of people who had usedTwitter to criticize Saudi Arabia
Federal officials arrested and charged two other defendants who are believed to be in Saudi Arabia, as well as a man who is believed to be a go-between for Saudi Arabia and the two Twitter workers.
According to the New York Times, defense attorneys for Abouammo argued during the trial that he was just doing his job as a media partnership manager.
Forbes contacted the U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco as well as the lawyer for Abouammo.
According to prosecutors, Abouammo was recruited to give over his data to the Saudis. It is one of several alleged attempts by Saudi officials to stifle criticism of the government. Saudi Arabia set up a troll farm to stifle criticism on social media, as well as Israel's NSO Group halted its contracts with Saudi Arabia due to concerns about NSO being used to monitor dissidents. Saudi Arabia lifted a widely criticized ban on women driving, but kept an activist who protested the ban in prison for almost three years.
Several people have been charged by the Department of Justice for helping foreign governments stifle dissent. Iranian intelligence agents were accused of planning to abduct an Iranian regime critic who lives in New York, while five people were accused of espionage for the Chinese regime in the US. The defendants aren't in the U.S., which could make it difficult to arrest or prosecute them.
The New York Times reported on Saudis' image makers.
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