"Microsoft and Google may have to surrender people's data to Saudi Arabia after signing huge deals there", 24 July 2023

At a lavish conference in Riyadh, in February, representatives from some of the world's biggest tech companies gathered...Soon after, Saudi officials announced they had secured $9 billion in investment from the firms, including a $2 billion plan from computer and tech giant Microsoft to build a cloud storage facility in the kingdom. It followed a similar announcement from Google last year that it would create a cloud center in the kingdom...

...But as tech firms rush to secure lucrative Saudi contracts, human rights activists are warning that Saudi officials could use the vast stores of digital information being stored in the kingdom to intensify its brutal persecution of dissidents.

They are warning tech giants like Microsoft and Google that they could be forced to hand over private citizen data to Saudi hitmen...In recent years, Saudi authorities have ruthlessly pursued government critics on social media, using spyware to track exiled dissidents, and even reportedly infiltrating Twitter's headquarters to steal data...

...Professor Alan Woodward, a computer technology expert at the University of Surrey, said that Saudi authorities would potentially be able to access vast amounts of sensitive political information stored via the cloud...Countries such as Saudi Arabia, he said, often told companies that "if you want to operate in this country, you've got to keep the data in this country. And that's for an obvious reason: So they could potentially access it."...

..."Respecting human rights is a core value of Microsoft. Our investment in the region will be consistent with Microsoft's commitment to protecting fundamental rights and includes a focus on responsible cloud practices including security, privacy, compliance, and transparency, as well as adherence to Microsoft's values and principles," a Microsoft spokesperson told Insider.

A Google spokesperson pointed Insider to a statement on the company's website, saying that "as the global landscape continues to evolve, we are committed to collaborating with human rights organizations and the broader technology industry to uphold human rights in every country where we operate."...