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Akbar Novruz

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A private intelligence firm working for the United Arab Emirates reportedly compiled a database containing personal information on more than 11,300 Facebook users residing in the country, identifying individuals considered politically hostile based on their social media activity, according to an investigation published by Drop Site News.

The operation, conducted by Geneva-based intelligence firm Alp Services, reportedly involved collecting users' names, locations, employment details and online affiliations, including their interactions with news outlets and political organisations critical of the Emirati government.

The findings are based on leaked internal documents from Alp Services, originally obtained by French investigative outlet Mediapart and shared with the European Investigative Collaborations reporting consortium.

According to the investigation, the database was delivered to an Emirati client in January 2018 under a project codenamed "Arnica 2", for which Alp Services received €55,000.

Facebook activity used to identify alleged political opponents

The intelligence operation reportedly began in July 2017, shortly after the UAE and several other Arab countries imposed a diplomatic and economic blockade on Qatar.

During that period, Emirati authorities warned that individuals expressing sympathy for Qatar or criticising the government's measures could face prison sentences of up to 15 years.

According to the leaked documents, Alp Services proposed identifying individuals inside the UAE who had publicly interacted with Facebook pages associated with organisations or media outlets considered hostile to Abu Dhabi.

In an internal planning document titled "Social media intelligence to identify hostile supporters in your jurisdiction", the company outlined its proposed methods.

"Through our team of in-house social media intelligence analysts, we could identify hundreds of individuals based in your country that publicly 'like' hostile groups, especially the MB," the firm wrote, referring to the Muslim Brotherhood.

The company also offered to use its "proprietary tools and advanced mapping software" to identify potential intelligence leads.

A July 2017 report reportedly identified approximately 1,000 individuals described as Muslim Brotherhood supporters living in the UAE.

However, the investigation found that the documents did not provide evidence establishing organisational membership beyond Facebook interactions with particular pages.

Those identified included teachers, students, engineers, pharmacists, restaurant workers and individuals who listed employment with police departments in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Intelligence firm reportedly outsourced data collection

The leaked archive also indicates that Alp Services subcontracted part of the Facebook data collection to Total Trust Investigations, a company based in Bucharest, Romania.

In August 2017, Alp employee Lionel Badal reportedly requested that the subcontractor compile names and profile information from Facebook search results into Excel spreadsheets.

"Of course, and as always, this request is strictly confidential," Badal wrote in correspondence cited by the investigation.

The operation examined audiences associated with several Arabic-language news outlets, including UAE71, Arabi21, Al Araby, Rassd and other platforms.

In October 2017, Alp's Emirati contact, Matar Humaid al-Neyadi, requested a proposal for analysing ten Facebook pages and their audiences.

According to the documents, the company subsequently billed €55,000 to Abu Dhabi-based ARIAF Studies and Research LLC in December 2017 and delivered the information on a USB drive the following month.

Al-Neyadi currently serves as the UAE's ambassador to Kuwait, according to the report.

Human rights concerns over potential surveillance

The investigation has raised questions about how the collected personal information might have been used by Emirati authorities.

Andreas Krieg, a Middle East security specialist at King's College London, warned that such databases could have serious consequences if incorporated into state surveillance operations.

"We cannot establish what happened to the 11,300 individuals without knowing whether the database was passed to Emirati State Security and subsequently used operationally. But given what we know about Abu Dhabi's security apparatus, I would be very concerned about the potential consequences", Krieg said.

He argued that the UAE's domestic security system places significant emphasis on monitoring political activity and identifying potential opposition.

"A database containing people's names, workplaces, residences and alleged political associations would be extremely valuable to that apparatus," he added.

Among the individuals reportedly identified in the database was prominent Emirati human rights activist Ahmed Mansoor, who had been arrested in March 2017.

Mansoor was subsequently sentenced to ten years in prison in 2018 over social media activity calling for political reforms.

However, the leaked documents do not establish that the Alp Services database contributed to his prosecution or to other arrests.

Broader restrictions on online expression

The reported intelligence operation took place against the backdrop of tightening restrictions on political expression in the UAE.

Following the Arab Spring protests in 2011, Emirati authorities introduced measures restricting political activism and online criticism.

A cybercrime law adopted in 2012 expanded criminal penalties for certain forms of online expression, drawing criticism from international human rights organisations.

In July 2024, dozens of defendants received life sentences in a mass trial involving an organisation designated as terrorist by Emirati authorities. Human Rights Watch criticised the proceedings and questioned the evidence presented against the defendants.

The UAE's Federal Supreme Court rejected appeals against the convictions in March 2025.

Nevertheless, the investigation emphasised that no direct connection has been established between these prosecutions and the Arnica 2 database.

The leaked documents also do not demonstrate whether Emirati security agencies ultimately used the collected information to investigate or prosecute individuals.

Alp Services, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Total Trust Investigations did not respond to requests for comment, according to Drop Site News.