US BlackBerry comments 'disappointing' - UAE - official - UAE

By Reuters

Tuesday, 3 August 2010 12:59 AM

DANGEROUS PRECEDENT: The United States has expressed its disappointment that the UAE planned to cut off key BlackBerry services. (Getty Images)

The United States said it was disappointed that the UAE planned to cut off key BlackBerry services, noting that the Gulf nation was setting a dangerous precedent in limiting freedom of information.

PJ Crowley, spokesman, State Department, said: "We are committed to promoting the free flow of information. We think it's integral to an innovative economy."

The UAE said over the weekend that it would suspend Research In Motion's BlackBerry Messenger, email and Web browser services from Oct 11 until the government could get access to encrypted messages.

Crowley said the United States was seeking additional information from the UAE about its security concerns, but urged the country to allow BlackBerry services to aid the free flow of information.

Crowley said: "It's about what we think is an important element of democracy, human rights and freedom of information and the flow of information in the 21st century," adding that the United States makes the same argument to Iran and China.

He added: "We think it sets a dangerous precedent. You should be opening up societies to these new technologies that have the opportunity to empower people rather than looking to see how you can restrict certain technologies."

Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE Ambassador to the United States, said Crowley's comments were disappointing and contradict the US government's own approach to telecommunication regulation.

Otaiba said: "In fact, the UAE is exercising its sovereign right and is asking for exactly the same regulatory compliance - and with the same principles of judicial and regulatory oversight - that Blackberry grants the US and other governments and nothing more."

He said: "Importantly, the UAE requires the same compliance as the US for the very same reasons: to protect national security and to assist in law enforcement."

He added: "It is regrettable that after several years of discussions, BlackBerry is still not compliant with UAE regulatory requirements even as it complies with similar policies in other countries." (Reuters)

BlackBerry ban

Join the Discussion

Disclaimer:The view expressed here by our readers are not necessarily shared by Arabian Business, its employees, sponsors or its advertisers.

Please post responsibly. Commenter Rules

Read All 17 Comments

Posted by: Kevin Sunday, 8 August 2010 7:32 AM[UAE] - KSA

for a change!

Reply to this comment.

Posted by: Telco guy Thursday, 5 August 2010 9:36 AM[UAE] - UAE

I really have no clue. You can encrypt your email beyond the capabilities of the TRA same with your messenger... I mean if you are a terrorist you are a small group so you can take care of providing everybody with secure communications. I really do not see how they could be deterred by the banning of the BBerry. This move will impact mostly people talking on a social setup, that means people who are talking to potential unknown parties. I seriously fail to see how this is related to security. Oh well.

Reply to this comment.

Posted by: Saeid Thursday, 5 August 2010 6:07 AM[UAE]

Well considering the amount of free publicity that BB has got in the past week, I can't imagine the guys at BB being too disappointed !

Reply to this comment.

Posted by: Alexander Wednesday, 4 August 2010 11:50 PM[UAE] - Lebanon

I would appreciate your opinion to this: Do you think this will also affect the messengers to be installed as an app on the iphone? Skype as well, for several smartphones is becoming a threat. Or is this considered secure and scanned for any potential terroristic threat by blacklists and manually?

Reply to this comment.

Posted by: IncidentFlux Wednesday, 4 August 2010 9:32 PM[UAE] - United Arab Emirates

Reality check... Etisalat, du and the U.A.E. market is tiny, puny, almost nothing for RIM! FYI Research In Motion (BlackBerry) 2009 revenue was $14.34 billion alone, that's massive, compared to ex-monopoly hound Etisalat's $8.4 billion and du's $143.7 million 2009 revenues. I guess the desert heat finally got them swallowing their own silly hype again. http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=research+in+motion+2009+revenue

Reply to this comment.