Ex-Twitter workers accused of spying to get Saudi Arabia
The charges, unsealed on Wednesday in SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, hold that Saudi agents sought person information regarding Twitter users including identified critics of the Saudi federal government.
Court documents named both as Ahmad Abouammo, a All of us citizen, and Ali Alzabarah, from Saudi Arabia.
A third man, Saudi citizen Ahmed Almutairi, can be accused of spying.
The charges allege Mr Almutairi acted as an intermediary between your two Twitter employees and Saudi officials.
Ahmad Abouammo appeared through a Seattle courtroom on Wednesday and was remanded located in custody pending another hearing credited on Friday.
He's also charged with falsifying docs and making false statements to the FBI. Mr Abouammo is said to have gone his job as a mass media partnership supervisor for Twitter in 2015.
Ali Alzabarah and Ahmed Almutairi happen to be both thought to be in Saudi Arabia.
Mr Alzabarah, a previous Twitter engineer, is accused of accessing the personal data of more than 6,000 Twitter end users in 2015 after getting recruited by Saudi agents.
He was faced with his supervisors and positioned on administrative keep before fleeing to Saudi Arabia along with his wife and girl, investigators said.
In a announcement, Twitter said it identified "the lengths bad actors will head to" to attempt to weaken it's service.
It extra: "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. We have tools in place to protect their privacy and their capability to do their vital work."
Saudi Arabia is a key US ally in the centre East.
US President Donald Trump offers taken care of close ties with the kingdom despite international disapproval following a killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year.
Mr Khashoggi was murdered throughout a visit to the Saudi consulate for Istanbul.
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