[gpt3] Rewrite this title: Twitter ‘unfit’ for banking over alleged complicity in Saudi rights abuses | Saudi Arabia [/gpt4]

## Law Firm Challenges Twitter’s Banking Licenses Over Alleged Human Rights Violations
Twitter’s former company, now known as X, has been deemed “unfit” to hold banking licenses due to alleged complicity in human rights violations in Saudi Arabia and misuse of users’ personal data, according to an open letter to federal and state banking regulators. The letter was signed by a law firm representing the family of a Saudi victim.

The allegations were made by lawyers representing Areej al-Sadhan, whose brother Abdulrahman was among the thousands of Saudis whose confidential personal information was reportedly obtained by Saudi agents masquerading as Twitter employees in 2014-15. The claim comes as Twitter Payments LLC, a subsidiary of X, is in the process of applying for money-transmitter licenses across the US.

## Elon Musk’s Financial Services Plan
Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, has expressed his desire for X to start offering financial services, such as enabling users to make payments across the social media platform. This banking plan is a key component of Musk’s strategy to boost the company’s revenue following his controversial acquisition of the platform for $44bn last year.

In their letter, the lawyers from Walden Macht & Haran LLP call for a “serious and careful investigation” into X’s past and current conduct, including allegations that X acted on behalf of Saudi Arabia to aid the kingdom’s campaign of transnational repression. They argue that Twitter is unfit to hold money-transmitting licenses and urge regulators to investigate Twitter’s previous conduct and its current financial ties with Saudi Arabia.

## The Saudi Infiltration and Its Aftermath
The Saudi campaign to infiltrate Twitter to identify users anonymously criticizing its government online allegedly led to Abdulrahman al-Sadhan’s “arrest, torture, and imprisonment.” Abdulrahman, who was sentenced to 20 years for allegedly using his anonymous Twitter account to mock the royal family, has not been in contact with his family since 2021.

In 2014 and 2015, the California-based company was infiltrated by three Saudi agents, two of whom posed as Twitter employees. This breach led to the identification of Abdulrahman and thousands of other anonymous Saudi Twitter users, some of whom were reportedly detained and tortured in the government’s crackdown on dissent.

The lawyers’ letter also alleges that Twitter began approving Saudi requests for confidential information in large numbers once the breach was discovered by federal investigators. In 2016, 85% of these requests were approved, a much higher approval rate than those for Canada and the US.

## The Road Ahead
X has not commented on al-Sadhan’s claims. An automatic reply from X to a request for comment from the Guardian stated, “Busy now, please check back later.”

The question of Twitter’s “fitness” to hold financial services licenses involves whether it can be trusted to comply with federal and state laws protecting consumer data and records. The Department of Justice estimates that the Saudis accessed the confidential data of about 6,000 Twitter users.

Despite the allegations, banking regulators in eight states have already approved license applications for Twitter Payments. Al-Sadhan’s case against X is currently pending before US district judge Edward Chen.

Original Story at www.theguardian.com – 2023-09-08 13:33:00