Major US social media companies, including Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, have restricted access to the accounts of Saudi dissidents inside the kingdom, reportedly in response to directives from Saudi authorities.

Among those affected are Abdullah Alaoudh, a US-based activist and outspoken critic of Saudi human rights practices, and Omar Abdulaziz, an activist based in Canada and the UK who previously collaborated with Jamal Khashoggi prior to his killing by Saudi agents in 2018.

According to the American Committee for Middle East Rights, at least seven accounts had been blocked by Meta as of the end of April, including those belonging to two US citizens and two individuals residing in Europe.

Alaoudh, who serves as ACMER’s senior policy adviser, said: “Meta is effectively doing Saudi Arabia’s dirty work against Americans living in the United States. When a company geo-blocks accounts on behalf of a government with a documented record of silencing dissent, it becomes an instrument of repression. Meta should push back.”

Meta did not respond to the “dirty work” allegation but told The Guardian that when content on its platforms is reported as violating local laws, while not breaching its own community standards, it may limit access to that content in the country where it is considered unlawful.

The company added that, in most cases, it informs affected users about which government authorities submitted the request.

Meta runs a public transparency centre in which it discloses government requests and content restrictions.

The data indicates that Saudi authorities contacted the company requesting action against a total of 144 Instagram accounts, Facebook pages, and Facebook profiles in April.

According to the same disclosures, Meta ultimately restricted access to 108 items in response to these requests.