Key facts
- X has geoblocked accounts of Saudi dissidents within the kingdom.
- Saudi authorities issued orders for the account blocks.
- Users inside Saudi Arabia cannot view the blocked dissident content.
- Meta's platforms and Snapchat previously took similar actions in Saudi Arabia.
- X is complying with a Turkish court order to block an account.
- The blocked account belongs to Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu's presidential candidacy office.
- Access to the account is blocked within Turkey.
- X is challenging the Turkish court order in court.
- X disagrees with the restriction imposed by the Turkish court order.
Social media platform X has implemented geoblocking for accounts belonging to Saudi dissidents within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, acting on directives from Saudi authorities. This measure restricts users inside Saudi Arabia from accessing the content posted by these accounts. This development is reminiscent of similar actions taken by Meta's platforms and Snapchat earlier in the year, which also complied with Saudi government requests to block content.