Blackberry Ban? Yes, that's precisely what is planned for both The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Sunday, the countries announced that they will restrict the use of BlackBerry mobile communication devices, citing difficulty monitoring them. Gulf News reported the UAE said it will suspend BlackBerry communication services by Oct. 11 because of national security concerns.
The Daily Telegraph reported the Saudis would take action against BlackBerry's instant messaging service for similar reasons.
Abdulrahman Mazi, who sits on the board of state-controlled Saudi Telecom, said the move is aimed at getting Research in Motion, the Canadian maker of BlackBerry devices, to release data from users' communications "when needed," the Telegraph said.
The UAE's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority had previously expressed concerns about the security level of the mobile communication devices and their inaccessibility to third parties, Gulf News said.
The UAE ban will affect e-mails, instant messaging and Internet browsing.
The authority had been in talks with RIM to modify its products. RIM, which declined comment about the authority's order, has said previously it would not make acquiesce to the Arab nation's demand, Gulf News said.
"With no solution available and in the public interest, in order to affect resolution of this issue, as of Oct. 11, 2010, Blackberry Messenger, Blackberry Email and Blackberry Web-browsing services will be suspended until an acceptable solution can be developed and applied," TRA Director General Mohammad al-Ganem said in a statement.
