X latest to block Saudi dissident accounts inside kingdom

2 hours ago

Elon Musk's X (formerly Twitter) has joined other major US social media platforms in blocking the accounts of Saudi Arabian dissidents within the kingdom, following orders from Saudi authorities.
Since mid-July, over 60 accounts on X have been geoblocked in Saudi Arabia, making them invisible to users inside the country.
Affected individuals include prominent human rights activists Yahya Assiri and Abdullah Alaoudh, as well as exiled activists, Saudi academics, and independent media.
Account holders received emails from X stating that content was withheld to comply with Saudi Arabia’s local laws, citing infringements on public order, religious values, or private life.
Critics, including Alaoudh and ALQST, condemn the censorship as a suppression of free speech, especially from companies that claim to support it.
ALQST has called on X, Meta, Snapchat, and YouTube to restore access and provide transparency in their decision-making processes.
Other affected accounts include satirist Ghanem al-Masarir, who also had his YouTube channels blocked after legal complaints from a government entity.
Al-Masarir expressed surprise that Elon Musk complied with the Saudi request, predicting other authoritarian countries would follow suit.

Australia plans to ban under-16s from social media, but the age verification system threatens privacy by requiring sensitive ID or AI-powered selfies.
Massive data breaches are already common; forcing users to upload passports or biometric data creates a high-value target for hackers, with lifelong consequences if stolen.
The ban is easily bypassed using VPNs, as demonstrated by a similar UK law, pushing kids to unregulated corners of the internet.

Elon Musk challenged critics to name people who died due to USAID funding cuts he led, claiming no deaths occurred.
Journalist Nicholas Kristof provided names of individuals, including children like Jibia and Achol Deng, who died after losing USAID-funded healthcare.
Musk responded with insults, calling Kristof 'evil' and a 'liar,' and targeted others like researcher Alonso Gurmendi.

Nigel Farage's bank account closure by Coutts sparked the 'debanking' scandal in 2023, leading to media backlash and senior banking executives resigning.
The Canary, a left-wing news website, was debanked by Lloyds Banking Group, speculating it was due to its anti-Zionist and pro-Palestine stance.
UK government initiatives include a National Security Law that threatens journalism by prosecuting those who quote designated entities.

EU Prüm II regulation allows facial image exchange across police forces, raising mass surveillance concerns.
eIDAS 2.0 mandates European digital identity wallets by 2026 and forces browsers to trust state certificates.
High-Level Group proposes 'lawful access by design' for police access to data, criticized as mass surveillance.

WhatsApp introduced global username feature, enabling chatting without sharing phone numbers.
Indian government objected to the username feature, fearing increased scams and fraud.
Government also sought explanations from Telegram and Signal regarding their username features.

Australia plans to ban under-16s from social media, but the age verification system threatens privacy by requiring sensitive ID or AI-powered selfies.
Massive data breaches are already common; forcing users to upload passports or biometric data creates a high-value target for hackers, with lifelong consequences if stolen.
The ban is easily bypassed using VPNs, as demonstrated by a similar UK law, pushing kids to unregulated corners of the internet.

Elon Musk challenged critics to name people who died due to USAID funding cuts he led, claiming no deaths occurred.
Journalist Nicholas Kristof provided names of individuals, including children like Jibia and Achol Deng, who died after losing USAID-funded healthcare.
Musk responded with insults, calling Kristof 'evil' and a 'liar,' and targeted others like researcher Alonso Gurmendi.

Nigel Farage's bank account closure by Coutts sparked the 'debanking' scandal in 2023, leading to media backlash and senior banking executives resigning.
The Canary, a left-wing news website, was debanked by Lloyds Banking Group, speculating it was due to its anti-Zionist and pro-Palestine stance.
UK government initiatives include a National Security Law that threatens journalism by prosecuting those who quote designated entities.

EU Prüm II regulation allows facial image exchange across police forces, raising mass surveillance concerns.
eIDAS 2.0 mandates European digital identity wallets by 2026 and forces browsers to trust state certificates.
High-Level Group proposes 'lawful access by design' for police access to data, criticized as mass surveillance.

WhatsApp introduced global username feature, enabling chatting without sharing phone numbers.
Indian government objected to the username feature, fearing increased scams and fraud.
Government also sought explanations from Telegram and Signal regarding their username features.

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