Saudi Arabia curbs citizens’ complaints about jobs for foreigners

{"text":[[{"start":7.6,"text":"Saudi Arabia has launched a crackdown against citizens complaining on social media about unemployment and the hiring of foreigners for senior positions at a state-owned company. "}],[{"start":17.25,"text":"The General Authority of Media Regulation said it had summoned for questioning 49 people who allegedly committed 68 violations on social media."}],[{"start":27.8,"text":"Unemployment among Saudi citizens hit record lows in recent years as the government diversified the economy, with the jobless rate at 7.2 per cent at the end of last year."}],[{"start":38.4,"text":"But the US-Israeli war on Iran has triggered renewed uncertainty and concerns about job prospects at a time when the government was already delaying projects over tightening liquidity and widening deficits. Officials said 13,000 people registered for a job fair in the northwestern city of Tabuk earlier this week."}],[{"start":58.3,"text":"Those summoned were accused of violations related to a clause in the Audio Visual Media Act that bans “disrupting public order, national security and the requirements of the public interest”, the regulator said in a statement."}],[{"start":71.05,"text":"Media minister Salman al-Dosary said the government welcomed “objective criticism” but had summoned those engaged in “agitating and misleading” the public. Laws and regulations were “very clear”, al-Dosary told a news conference on Wednesday. He also chairs the media regulator."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":89.94999999999999,"text":"Authorities did not specify the offending content, but activists and human rights groups said they were connected to LinkedIn posts from an account that claimed underqualified western expatriates were dominating critical departments in Qiddiya, one of several gigaprojects owned by the Public Investment Fund."}],[{"start":108.44999999999999,"text":"The FT could not independently verify the authenticity of the LinkedIn account or its claims, but screenshots of its posts rapidly spread on other social media sites where they sparked angry responses by users who said the complaints resonated with their own experiences."}],[{"start":125.94999999999999,"text":"Those users in turn posted screenshots of the profiles of some expats who work at the company. They included a former New Zealand football player who became a senior manager at Qiddiya, a vast entertainment and sports complex located on a desert mountain cliff on the outskirts of Riyadh. An Australian man who previously worked as a sailing instructor was promoted from development associate to be a manager after a few years at the company. "}],[{"start":151.5,"text":"Some expatriate employees in Saudi Arabia acknowledged that “unjust” practices did exist in the country’s job market but said foreigners should not become targets of online abuse as a result."}],[{"start":163.45,"text":"“Poring over these frustrations on random foreigners’ TikTok accounts is a little bit weird,” Dagmara Kowalik, a Polish expat who works in digital marketing, posted on TikTok. “It’s definitely not going to solve any problem. This is not where the problem originated.” "}],[{"start":179.29999999999998,"text":"Andrew Leber, an assistant professor at Tulane University who studied the kingdom’s labour market and online discourse around it, said Saudi authorities had managed to weather some of the economic pressure from the war but were aware of the constraints the conflicts would place on future growth. "}],[{"start":196.04999999999998,"text":"“They are very concerned about being seen as unable to give people jobs. And so they have reached a point where it seems like they have to crack down on this type of rhetoric to keep it from spreading,” he said."}],[{"start":206.89999999999998,"text":"“Foreigners provide an easy outlet for these complaints too, because you’re not attacking the country’s leadership,” he said. “You are at worst attacking officials who have given these opportunities to non-citizens instead of Saudi citizens.” "}],[{"start":220.54999999999998,"text":"Alqst, a UK-based Saudi human rights group, said users who shared their experiences in the labour market or expressed sympathy with jobseekers were forced to delete their posts and warned not to repeat their actions. "}],[{"start":234.54999999999998,"text":"The group said on X that the Saudi government’s move represented an “escalating crackdown on freedom of expression in the country, which aims to intimidate and silence young voices”."}],[{"start":246.1,"text":"The media regulator launched a similar campaign, which included arrests, at the end of last year after widespread social media complaints over the rising cost of living. "}],[{"start":255.75,"text":"Officials suggest that some of the online debate over issues such as unemployment is the result of activity by fake accounts meant to foment public discontent."}],[{"start":265.15,"text":"Jillian York, director for international freedom of expression at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said even if the debate was sparked by inauthentic behaviour it appears to have tapped into legitimate concerns."}],[{"start":277.04999999999995,"text":"“It does not matter whether or not the initial posts were orchestrated because these people have the right to have these legitimate grievances,” she said. “This follows a pattern of going after people for criticising actions, either directly of the government or that the government enables or allows.”"}],[{"start":293.69999999999993,"text":"Qiddiya declined to comment, but a person close to the company said employing citizens was a priority for the project, where just 40 per cent of employees are currently Saudis. The company aims to raise that figure to 50 per cent next year and to 70 per cent by 2030. "}],[{"start":309.24999999999994,"text":"The Saudi government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "}],[{"start":320.2999999999999,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1778828883_3643.mp3"}