Twitter headquarters, located at 1355 Market St, San Francisco. Photo: Jason Doiy/ALM

Two Twitter employees and a Saudi national infiltrated the social media platform to pass user information to affiliates of the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia, according to a complaint filed by the U.S. attorney's office in the Northern District of California. 

"The criminal complaint unsealed today alleges that Saudi agents mined Twitter's internal systems for personal information about known Saudi critics and thousands of other Twitter users," said U.S. Attorney David L. Anderson. "U.S. law protects U.S. companies from such an unlawful foreign intrusion. We will not allow U.S. companies or U.S. technology to become tools of foreign repression in violation of U.S. law."

The Twitter employees Ali Alzabarah and Ahmad Abouammo, as well as Ahmed Almutairi, who allegedly served as an intermediary between the tech workers and the Saudi government, are charged with acting as an agent of a foreign government. Abouammo was also charged with obstructing justice by lying to agents and providing a fake invoice. 

A Twitter spokesperson said in an email statement that the company recognizes "the lengths bad actors will go to try and undermine our service." The spokesperson added that the company limits "sensitive account information" to employees who have been trained and vetted.

"We understand the incredible risks faced by many who use Twitter to share their perspectives with the world and to hold those in power accountable," the spokesperson said. "We have tools in place to protect their privacy and their ability to do their vital work. We're committed to protecting those who use our service to advocate for equality, individual freedoms, and human rights."

Read the complaint:

The defendants allegedly accessed the email addresses, IP addresses and dates of birth attached to Twitter accounts to feed back to Saudi officials.

Saudi activist Omar Abdulaziz also named Alzabarah in a civil lawsuit filed against Twitter in the Northern District of California last month. Abdulaziz claims Twitter's failure to protect his user information from Alzabarah exposed him and loved ones to "imprisonment, torture, and even death," according to the complaint.

Read more:

Saudi Activist Accuses Twitter of Exposing User Data to Hostile State Actors