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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSince 2019, Saudi Arabia has lifted<\/a> many of the restrictions imposed on women under the male guardianship system, with Crown Prince MBS praising these measures as evidence of the kingdom\u2019s progress towards gender equality. Among other reforms, women over 21 were granted the right to obtain passports and travel without a male guardian\u2019s permission. Yet in practice, the reality of women\u2019s autonomy in Saudi Arabia remains far more complex than any legislative amendment might suggest. Women remain constrained<\/a> by enduring social prejudice and discriminatory attitudes, manifesting increasingly behind a layer of digital control. Saudi Arabia\u2019s online spaces continue to reproduce patriarchal hierarchies, enabling online harassment and restrictions that limit women\u2019s freedoms in the virtual sphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The rise of an interconnected digital community on the internet has made Saudi women more visible and active in public discourse, something that was largely uncommon and impossible in the past. Yet women are heavily pressured and discouraged<\/a> from engaging in online activism, their visibility often being perceived as a threat. The online presence of high-profile female activists has triggered<\/a> significant levels of digital violence against women, including online verbal abuse, frequent unsolicited contact, and even stalking. According to recent studies,<\/a> one in four women using internet platforms in Saudi Arabia has experienced at least one form of digital violence. This shows how, with formal guardianship laws now partially dismantled, discrimination has largely shifted into digital spaces, where it continues to reinforce offline social hierarchies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the most common tactics employed<\/a> against women activists is the use of so-called \u201celectronic armies\u201d, composed of networks of coordinated social media users who assume false identities and conduct online hate campaigns to intimidate peaceful dissidents. Many of these actors operate as unofficial agents of the Saudi government. These groups communicate through encrypted platforms such as Telegram and Whatsapp, where they receive lists of targets to harass, meeting daily quotas of abusive messages and tweets. The impact of these digital attacks extends beyond the digital sphere, often escalating<\/a> into physical harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Saudi Arabia\u2019s digital repression of women is not only domestic. It also targets exiled activists as part of a transnational network of repression that undermines digital rights and freedom of expression. According to a Freedom House report<\/a>, women have been disproportionately targeted in the kingdom\u2019s transnational campaigns in comparison to their male counterparts. In fact, since MBS\u2019s rise to power, the government\u2019s intensified gender-based repression coincided with a sharp increase in the number of Saudi women seeking asylum abroad. Yet, activists abroad remain subject to punitive measures, with Saudi authorities reportedly using spyware and online harassment to monitor and intimidate women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In light of this ongoing persecution, the government\u2019s promotion of Digital Saudi 2030, a central part of the Vision 2030 initiative, appears deeply contradictory and deceiving. There is a concerning discrepancy<\/a> between Saudi Arabia\u2019s rhetoric of digital modernization and its continued use of censorship, surveillance and repression against activists. For example, the enactment of the Personal Status Law in 2022 was framed<\/a> as a major reform in the struggle against gender discrimination. While the government celebrates the law, experts argue<\/a> that it codifies several discriminatory practices, including the requirement for women to obtain a guardian\u2019s consent to marry. Women\u2019s rights activists in Saudi Arabia, who had long advocated for a codified Personal Status Law, were excluded from the drafting process and silenced when they sought to comment publicly on it. Many faced arbitrary arrest, detention, and travel bans, demonstrating the kingdom\u2019s intolerance toward women\u2019s civic participation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n