UAE to ban Blackberry from October

[harrybarracuda]

I wonder how quickly this will catch on with other "Big Brother" governments?

The UAE’s telecoms regulator has announced that BlackBerry services in the country will be suspended from 11 October this year.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) said that the suspension was due to the failure of ongoing attempts since 2007 to bring BlackBerry services in the country in line with local regulations.

"With no solution available and in the public interest, in order to affect resolution of this issue, as of October 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 Mohamed Al Ghanim said in a statement.

"The TRA notes that Blackberry appears to be compliant in similar regulatory environments of other countries, which makes non-compliance in the UAE both disappointing and of great concern."

Speaking to newswire Reuters, Al Ghanim denied that the move was for the purposes of state censorship.

"It's a final decision but we are continuing discussions with them," he said. "Censorship has got nothing to do with this. What we are talking about is suspension due to the lack of compliance with UAE telecommunications regulations."

BlackBerry devices, introduced in the UAE in 2006, allow users to send messages that can’t be monitored as allowed for under the country’s 2007 Safety, Emergency and National Security rules, the regulator said last week.

Although such communications should fall under the remit of that law, technical encryption allowed them to avoid monitoring, it said Sunday.

Telcos Etisalat and du were informed of the TRA’s decision on Sunday. They were also instructed to ensure minimal consumer disruption in the provision of alternative services.

“All Blackberry services fall within the UAE regulatory framework developed by the TRA since 2007, however because of Blackberry's technical configuration, some Blackberry services operate beyond the enforcement of these regulations,” said a statement issued by the TRA.

“Blackberry data is immediately exported off-shore, where it is managed by a foreign, commercial organization. Blackberry data services are currently the only data services operating in the UAE where this is the case.

“Today's decision is based on the fact that, in their current form, certain Blackberry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns for the UAE.”

[Bettyboo]

“Today's decision is based on the fact that, in their current form, certain Blackberry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns for the UAE.”

Without being monitored by the state, which causes them some 'concerns'...

Legal accountability; judicial, social and national security concerns - this is just more doublespeak; under the same logic, chatting to my mom (or indeed anyone) without being monitored might cause judical, social and national security concerns without legal accountability...

WTF has the world come to when these types of government statements are the norm???
(Please don't bother retorting with some Orwellian defense against the 'terror threat'.)

[harrybarracuda]

“Today's decision is based on the fact that, in their current form, certain Blackberry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns for the UAE.”

Without being monitored by the state, which causes them some 'concerns'...

Legal accountability; judicial, social and national security concerns - this is just more doublespeak; under the same logic, chatting to my mom (or indeed anyone) without being monitored might cause judical, social and national security concerns without legal accountability...

WTF has the world come to when these types of government statements are the norm???
(Please don't bother retorting with some Orwellian defense against the 'terror threat'.)

The Maktoums are pissed off that people can talk about their baksheesh without them knowing. Blackberry are costing them money.

[Jesus Jones]

While you may mock, don't get too cocky as it's coming your way too. Senate has already passed the 'kill switch bill' and it was recently reported that the CIA tied with google will be monitoring the internet in real time.

[harrybarracuda]

While you may mock, don't get too cocky as it's coming your way too. Senate has already passed the 'kill switch bill' and it was recently reported that the CIA tied with google will be monitoring the internet in real time.

Who's mocking?

Saudi Arabia are banning it too.

Apparently the ratio of personal to corporate users there is 80/20. I wonder why?

[Bettyboo]

UAE says BlackBerry ban will affect visitors too - Yahoo! News

"Last year, RIM criticized a directive by the UAE state-owned mobile operator Etisalat telling the company's [COLOR=#366388 !important][COLOR=#366388 !important]BlackBerry [COLOR=#366388 !important]users[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] to install software described as a service upgrade. Tests showed the download actually installed spy software on users' phones that could allow authorities to access private information stored on the handsets. It strongly distanced itself from Etisalat's decision and told users how to remove the software."

[harrybarracuda]

UAE says BlackBerry ban will affect visitors too - Yahoo! News

"Last year, RIM criticized a directive by the UAE state-owned mobile operator Etisalat telling the company's [COLOR=#366388 !important][COLOR=#366388 !important]BlackBerry [COLOR=#366388 !important]users[/color][/color][/color] to install software described as a service upgrade. Tests showed the download actually installed spy software on users' phones that could allow authorities to access private information stored on the handsets. It strongly distanced itself from Etisalat's decision and told users how to remove the software."

Yeah that was hilarious. Everyone's phone went bananas and locked up their bandwidth. The silly pricks actually thought no-one would notice.

[harrybarracuda]

New laws in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will require that every Blackberry user dress their phone a miniature burqa and face veil. ‘The Blackberry burqa means that people can still use their phones,’ said a Saudi government official, ‘but the tiny niqab that covers the screen will stop them from reading emails or accessing the Internet.’
The introduction of the burqa is intended to conceal the Blackberry from unwanted attention. With the veil in place only a tiny slit remains revealing just the time and date, thus preserving its modesty.
‘This is not about censorship or oppression,’ said UAE telecommunications regulator Mohammed al-Ghanem, ‘this is about preserving the essential purity of the Blackberry and protecting it from being corrupted.’
Some businessmen believe that making their phone wear a burqa can be very liberating. ‘It’s great,’ said one, ‘with the veil in place I am free to walk about with my Blackberry in public without the feeling that people are staring lustily at my multi-media application. It also covers my shame for not owning an iPhone.’
Some religious groups have welcomed the policy. ‘If Allah had meant us to freely access the Internet He would have given us web browsers in our heads,’ said a local imam, adding ‘There is absolutely no mention of instant messaging in the Koran and at no point did Muhammad, or any of his eleven wives, ever say LOL, ROFL or PMSL.’
If the Blackberry burqa is successful it may spread to other countries. However, experts say that dressing your phone in a burqa could result in poor reception, especially in France and Belgium.
The British government has yet to declare an official line on phone burqas although Immigration Minister Damian Green said that to ban them would be ‘very unBritish’. He went on to explain that, ‘the British thing to do, as always, is to grumble and tut.’
The Saudi government have promised that anyone who refuses to dress their Blackberry in a burqa will face harsh punishment. ‘I am not saying exactly what we will do,’ said their Minister for Justice, ‘but suffice to say that it isn’t so easy to text with your toes.’

[harrybarracuda]

And now Bahrain have decided to join in the fun......

[harrybarracuda]

Well well, RIM have let Saudi put in a server to monitor emails, so the ban will now be lifted. Bahrain says it's not going to ban after all, so they're probably getting one too. UAE no doubt will follow.

Well done RIM, let's sell individual privacy for your bottom line, you money-grubbing c**ts.

[Clogiron]

Rumour has it that Thailand is also considering following the same route of installing a monitoring server on the RIM network, or so I was informed 20 odd minutes ago.

Not sure how much truth there is behind such a move but it wouldn't surprise me.

[Jools]

I wonder if we could persuade Pakistan to ban life jackets and other flotation devices? As they say...."a good start".

[harrybarracuda]

I wonder if we could persuade Pakistan to ban life jackets and other flotation devices? As they say...."a good start".

Just fake a "respected Islamic cleric" saying that they are as haram as pigs and alcohol.

[harrybarracuda]

RIM has developed a method that would let the Indian government spy on BlackBerry messages and avoid a possible ban, home ministry representative Onkar Kedia said on Monday. The unidentified method will be tested for the next 60 days and, if successful, will avoid a restriction that would have banned BES-based e-mail and BlackBerry Messenger effective tomorrow. RIM has yet to comment on the new approach.

The approach may prove controversial through RIM's approach to security. It has insisted that it would treat all countries equally and offer the same monitoring tools elsewhere. The step might avoid Saudi Arabian and UAE bans but may also make corporate customers leery. Many of them depend on the tightly encrypted nature of BlackBerry e-mail to keep information private, but the US and many other countries could now requests the Indian tool and potentially negate RIM's main advantage.

And our jingly friends want to snoop on more:

India has toughened its scrutiny of telecoms firms with a directive demanding "access to everything". An Indian Home Ministry official told the BBC that "any company with a telecoms network should be accessible".


"It could be Google or Skype, but anyone operating in India will have to provide data," he said.
The move follows high-profile talks with Blackberry maker Research in Motion about ways to allow Indian security forces to monitor data.


The government is also likely to target virtual private networks, which give secure access to company networks for employees working away from their offices.

[Mid]

วันศุกร์ ที่ 08 ต.ค. 2553

United Arab Emirates says it won't go ahead with a planned ban on key BlackBerry services slated to begin Monday: AP

mcot.net

[harrybarracuda]

วันศุกร์ ที่ 08 ต.ค. 2553

United Arab Emirates says it won't go ahead with a planned ban on key BlackBerry services slated to begin Monday: AP

mcot.net

Which means RIM caved and the UAE government can read every message.

[BiCranial]

Which means RIM caved and the UAE government can read every message.

Perhaps for personal users, but strong encryption has always been the foundation of BB's enterprise offering so I'd think corporate systems would be safe (unless they've all been individually compromised)