Furthermore - the US has a big advantage. Many of the companies that handle digital communication services (Facebook, Twitter, Google etc) are US based and have to by law co-operate with the US law enforcement agencies. So if the FBI (or other three-letter agency) wants access to your Facebook or gmail, they can get it via those companies.

In countries like Saudi Arabia they don't have the same level of power/control so they have to look at intercepting & blocking the traffic.