By Andrew England in Abu Dhabi
Published: August 1 2010 09:56 | Last updated: August 1 2010 18:34
The United Arab Emirates is to suspend BlackBerry mobile communication services from October because, it said, they operate outside its laws and raise national security concerns.
Saudi Arabia appeared to be following suit, with an official at Saudi Telecom, a state-controlled company, saying the kingdom was banning BlackBerry messenger services.
The security-conscious Gulf states will be the first countries to take such actions but the announcements come after India raised similar concerns about Research in Motion’s network in recent weeks. Canada-based RIM is the company behind the BlackBerry brand.
BlackBerry services, such as e-mail and instant messaging, use internal encrypted networks that are difficult for governments to monitor. It is the only data services provider operating in the UAE that exports its data offshore and denies authorities access to its systems.
The UAE’s regulator said its decision was based on the fact that “certain BlackBerry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns for the UAE”.
The UAE’s suspension will begin on October 11 and will also apply to roaming BlackBerry devices. The ban in Saudi Arabia, the Arab Gulf’s most populous nation and the Arab world’s biggest economy, was due to begin this month. The UAE government, which relies heavily on high-tech surveillance measures as key elements of its security infrastructure, said it had had discussions with RIM about its concerns but no progress was made.
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