Twitter Spy Trial Exposes Betrayal of Saudi Arabia Dissidents

Twitter Inc. cultivated Saudi Arabian leaders to boost the use of its platform in the Middle East. At the same time, it prided itself on providing a forum where the country’s dissidents and activists could anonymously post their criticism of the royal family and organize.

But as it tried to achieve contradictory goals, the dissidents were allegedly betrayed by a former Twitter staffer.

That’s the story unfolding at a criminal trial in San Francisco federal court, just blocks from Twitter’s headquarters. Current and former employees of the social media company are testifying against Ahmad Abouammo, their former colleague who was ...