Saudi authorities recently announced that Microsoft has made a $2 billion investment to construct a cloud storage facility in the kingdom. However, activists are raising concerns about the potential risks to users’ personal data. The announcement was made at the LEAP 2023 tech conference in Riyadh, where influential executives and Saudi officials gather, including those involved in Neom, the $1 trillion mega-development led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Microsoft’s plan to establish a data center region in Neom mirrors Google’s criticized cloud center initiative in Saudi Arabia, which raised concerns about the Saudi government’s access to Western tech companies.
Alan Woodward, a computer technology expert at the University of Surrey in England, stated to Business Insider that the Saudi authorities could potentially access significant amounts of sensitive political information stored in the cloud. He added that Saudi officials informed companies like Microsoft that data must be kept within the country if they wish to operate there, enabling potential access. Marwa Fatafta, an analyst with digital rights group Access Now, questioned Microsoft’s consideration of potential privacy violations and human rights abuses associated with building such infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. She suggested that this move could result in the easy transfer of user data, especially given Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record. However, Microsoft’s press release on the investment emphasized its commitment to addressing data residency, security, privacy, and compliance needs for organizations, enterprises, and developers.
Critics have disputed Microsoft’s assurance, particularly since the company has not disclosed how it intends to protect the privacy of data stored in Saudi Arabia. The kingdom itself has vague privacy laws and has previously arrested individuals for expressing dissenting views on social media. For instance, Fatima al-Shawarbi, a Saudi woman in her 20s, was recently sentenced to 30 years in prison for criticizing the Neom project and advocating for a constitutional monarchy on Twitter. The implementation of Saudi Arabia’s first data protection plan, the Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL), is set for September, but it is uncertain whether it will prevent prosecutions related to free speech on social media.
Privacy advocates based in the US have also opposed the development of Neom, a project that will span 10,200 square miles in northwestern Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk Province once completed in 2025. Neom aims to be an “economic engine” utilizing $500 billion, including funding from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). The PIF, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has faced criticism due to its alleged involvement in the brutal killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Critics have also pointed to the case of two former Twitter employees accused of sharing private data about Saudi dissidents with an ally of the crown prince in 2019 as evidence supporting their skepticism toward the Saudi government.
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