Spying for Saudi Regime Leads to 3.5 Years in Prison for Ex-Twitter Employee

Ahmad Abouammo, a former employee of Twitter who was indicted in August, was sentenced to three and a half years in jail for his involvement in a conspiracy to get users' personal information for a Saudi government agent. Ahmad Abouammo, a former employee of Twitter and dual US-Lebanese citizen, was found guilty of spying on users for the Saudi Regime and received a three and a half year prison sentence. According to Bloomberg, a federal judge at a federal court in San Francisco delivered the sentence. He participated in a plot to obtain critics' contact information and dates of birth in order to appease Saudi Arabia. "The seriousness of the violation is something that is obvious in this environment because of the nature of the trust that was violated," US District Judge Edward Chen said during the sentencing hearing. He continued, citing personal mitigating circumstances, such as Abouammo's inability to find job and his bankruptcy filing. Two of Abouammo's co-defendants, according to the Justice Department, eluded American investigators by relocating to Saudi Arabia. One of them utilised Twitter, according to reports. Abouammo said, "I'm truly upset and apologetic about the entire matter," before to being sentenced. He further stated that his wife, parents, and three children would all suffer as a result of this lawsuit. Across 2015, he managed Twitter's media partnerships and marketed the fledgling social media platform in the Middle East and North Africa. According to Assistant United States Attorney Colin Sampson, Abouammo's punishment sends the message that disclosing information to foreign governments will not be permitted to employees of Silicon Valley's technology companies.