The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) is following with concern the referral of Saudi citizens to investigations by the Saudi authorities for posting online their criticism of unfair selection of foreigners over Saudi citizens for senior positions in a state-owned company. 

The general Authority of the Media Regulation stated that it has questioned 49 Saudi citizens for allegedly committing 68 violations on social media. They didn’t specify how the posting is related to violations and only referred to charges as “disrupting public order, national security, and the requirements to maintain the public interest.”

Posts started to appear when a group of Saudis started looking up the resumes of several foreigners hired at state-owned companies on the LinkedIn website. The Saudis found that the credentials of some of them didn’t match the positions they were hired for. Saudis started reposting under a years’ old hashtag #Unemployment_among_Saudis, about their grievances in unemployment and the unfairness of recruiting underqualified foreigners. Soon, a wave of posts by other Saudis started to flood the hashtag with similar unfair experiences in jobs or job applications. 

This trend usually appears every year in Saudi Arabia, and many people were targeted by the authorities for posting their grievances online. Vision 2030 promised that Saudi youth would find more jobs by encouraging investments in private sectors and creating more jobs. The state claims that unemployment figures have been improved to 7.2%.

A video of the Saudi Finance Minister, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, was circulated with the hashtag mentioned above, in which he was quoted as saying that the state has created in 2023 more than one million and one hundred jobs, and Saudis were assigned to only about 130,000 jobs for Saudi citizens. The fact that 90% of jobs created were dedicated to foreigners is a testament to the authenticity of the online campaign.

However, in the absence of transparency and freedom of reporting and expression, the state figures can be misleading. In addition, the recent war has complicated citizens’ access to employment opportunities and their ability to secure permanent jobs. There are now significant layoffs and restructuring across several major sectors, driven by falling oil revenues, budget cuts, and the scaling back of massive Vision 2030 projects; and their stability with permanent jobs.

This is not the only state-led campaign to curb online expression. A previous campaign targeted online critics of the rising cost of living. Six people were arrested in November 2025 for posting information that “systematically provoked public opinion”. The General Authority of Media Regulation stated that individuals would be prosecuted under the Anti-Cybercrimes Law and could face up to five years of imprisonment and, ironically, fines of up to $800,000. 

GCHR calls on the authorities in Saudi Arabia to:

1. Release all individuals and drop all charges against them for peacefully posting about their grievances or unfairness in hiring or the cost of living;
2. Ensure that domestic laws are not used to curb people’s rights to opinions and self-expression; and
3. Respect the state’s commitment to rights and freedoms under international law, particularly at times of economic constraints or regional conflicts and wars.