From Saudi Arabia's 'snitching app' to China's social credit system, how autocratic govts use tech

The realms of science fiction, where artificial intelligence/technology controls our every move, like Netflix's Love Death + Robots, is no longer just fiction. It is a reality that billions of people live in. In the latest, reports say that Saudi Arabia's 'snitching app' may have led to the arrest of a UK university student for her mild criticism of the establishment on Twitter. 

1. Kollona Amn

A few weeks ago, a Saudi woman, Salma al-Shehab, a PhD student at Britain's University of Leeds, was arrested in her home country during her visit home and was awarded a staggering 34-year prison sentence. 

Why? It was all because of a tweet that reportedly denounced the Saudi authorities. 

The Saudi Arabian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Salma al-Shehab. pic.twitter.com/SrADICKLtY

— Amnesty International USA (@amnestyusa) August 28, 2022

Thomson Reuters Foundation News citing DAWN, a US-based human rights group, reported that another woman, Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani, was also given a 45-year prison sentence for "using the internet to tear the (Saudi) social fabric". 

There's one thing common between the two cases. It appears that the two women were reported by unknown citizens of Saudi Arabia through a government app called - Kollona Amn, which means 'We are all security'. The apps let ordinary citizens file complaints against anyone and report 'criminal' activities of their fellow citizens. Rights Groups believe that Shehab and Qahtani were also reported on the app by ordinary citizens of Saudi Arabia. 

Dubbed the 'snitching app', the government-endorsed app encourages citizens to be spies. 

#SaudiArabia's Ministry of Interior launched an app called "Kollona Amn" ("We are all Security"), which aims to protect individual privacy and prevent any misuse of mobile phones. pic.twitter.com/MDrON9u06R

— SAPRAC (@SapracOrg) March 17, 2018

In June this year, a user had replied to Salma al-Shehab's mildly critical tweet from 2020, saying that he would report her on the Kollona Amn app. Two months later, she was arrested.

What's worse is that the arrest of the two women for merely speaking their minds was enabled by West-owned companies like Apple and Google, which allowed the app on their platforms. 

Saudi Arabia's snitching app is an example of how autocratic governments are using technology; even Western technology developed in democratic nations; to oppress critics. 

What do you do if someone threatens you?

You can report this cybercrime on Kollona Amn.#LightUpTheLaw#إضاءات_قانونية ✨⚖️ pic.twitter.com/cUpJtEF9O8

— إضاءات قانونية (@Li_Team36) June 4, 2020

2. Absher app

In 2019, Thomson Reuters Foundation News reported that Apple and Google were allowing the download of a Saudi government app called the Absher app. The app allowed men to track their wives' and other female relatives' movements with the click of a button. It allowed men to update or withdraw permissions given for women to travel, get SMS prompts at the use of their passports, etc. 

Saudi Arabia’s Absher App: Controlling Women’s Travel While Offering Government Services

Questions and Answers https://t.co/NwrZu4g8cD pic.twitter.com/324gVgFhFa

— Human Rights Watch (@hrw) May 6, 2019

Saudi Arabia doesn't allow women to travel internationally without a male guardian or the permission of a male guardian. 

Not just in Saudi Arabia, but technology is being used worldwide by oppressive regimes to surveil citizens and critics. 

3. China's social credit system

Fun fact:
China has successfully launched its social credit system in all provinces with no complaints...

Of course complaints about the social credit system will lower your social credit score.. pic.twitter.com/jgxyPVhWFf

— Probably A Bot (@ProbablyABot00) August 29, 2022

China is the indisputable poster child of state surveillance. Perhaps one of its largest surveillance systems is the social credit system that the Communist Party of China has been building since 2014. Much of it is already in use. The system is similar to what was shown in Black Mirror's Nosedive episode, where people can buy houses and other requirements only if they have a high credit score.  

The system collects vast amounts of identifying data of its 1.4 billion population. It enables the local police chiefs to get all information on a citizen walking down the road, even about who he's about to meet. The data allows the local authorities to grade citizens based on their social and political activities. 

It also inadvertently allows the Chinese government to track every movement of its critics. 

4. Apple deletes apps for China

If autocratic government-developed or purchased technology is not enough, tech giants from democratic nations, like Apple, have also been aiding the oppressive regimes. Apple was criticised for removing over 60 apps from its App Store in China that allowed citizens to circumvent the Great Firewall of the country. The apps included VPNs and more.   

Apple fought tooth and nail against the FBI over opening the phone of a suspected terrorist over privacy concerns in 2016 but seems like it would not keep its integrity in another country. 

5. Facebook developing software to appease China? 

Facebook isn't just irresponsible with its data, it's shown an eagerness to work with authoritarian regimes. For China they created a censorship tool in order to crack down on communication and free speech. 3/

— Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) July 12, 2018

Facebook has been accused of reportedly developing software to appease China and allowing it to enter the Chinese market. The software would allow third parties to block certain posts and accounts from the news feeds of people based on their geographical location. 

6. Western spy tech

Reports have uncovered how oppressive regimes in Syria and other Middle Eastern countries relied on Western tech firms like Area SpA (an Italian firm) to build surveillance programs. Bahrain reportedly used Germany-based Trovicor, a former Nokia Siemens subsidiary, to snoop into the digital activity of political activists. 

Myanmar's military, which toppled an elected government in a coup in 2021, used Western spy tech to target critics and citizens. They used the tech to hack into the phones of the critics, decrypt data and conduct facial recognition. 

Even without complex, high-tech systems, governments around the world are using platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok to run misinformation campaigns, propaganda, etc. Most of the time, with ample help from citizens themselves (unwillingly or otherwise).