Saudi Arabia to Block BlackBerry Messaging

[onehandle]

Source: New York Times

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- A telecommunications official says Saudi Arabia will block BlackBerry messaging later this month. The official did not explain why the decision had been made in his comments on Sunday. But neighboring United Arab Emirates also said Sunday it would block BlackBerry e-mail, messaging and Web access staring in October, citing security concerns because the devices operate beyond the government's ability to monitor their use.

The Saudi official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the media, says the Saudi Arabia Communications and Information Technology Commission, which regulates telecommunications, will issue a statement soon. The decision could block e-mail and Web access for hundreds of thousands of users in the Mideast commercial hub starting in October.

Blackberry data is encrypted and routed overseas, and the measure could be motivated in part by government fears that the messaging system could be exploited by terrorists or other criminals who cannot be monitored by the local authorities.

However, analysts and activists also see it as an attempt to more tightly control the flow of information in the UAE, a U.S. ally that is home to the Gulf business capital Dubai and the oil-rich emirate of Abu Dhabi. Government censors already routinely block access to websites and other media deemed to carry content that runs contrary to the nation's conservative Islamic values or could stoke political unrest.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/08/01/technology/AP-ML-Emirates-BlackBerry.html

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Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, China, North Korea...

Oppressive dictatorships all.

[davidinalameda]

1. odd

if I was a tinfoil hatter, I'd say that something is going to happen over the next month or so

[DrDan]

2. Ramadan . . . begins 8/11

[xchrom]

3. Well - we will see. A lot of business is

Conducted over testing.

We will see if anonymous is correct.

[msongs]

4. evidently free speech is not an islamic value according to them. whatta surprise nt

[Imajika]

11. Well, it's definately not a surprise...

...because free speech is absolutely not an Islamic value.

It might be that NO religion truly values free speech, but Islam tops the list in regards to being regressive on this issue.

Anti-government activities are probably more what blocking BlackBerry is about though.

[PSPS]

5. An "October surprise" in the offing? Is that when Israel/US starts bombing Iran?

[Posteritatis]

16. If I had a nickel for every time the just-because bombing of Iran was predicted... (nt)

[Wilms]

6. If Iran did that, Hillary would have postponed the wedding so she could make faces about it. n/t

[aquart]

10. No. She would not.

The pointless nastiness of that inaccurate statement bewilders me.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ixion]

7. Ah, our Freedom Loving allies

or, uh, er, not so much.

[Bolo Boffin]

8. The government is worried more about Janet Jackson's nipple than terrorists.

That's just, like, my opinion, man.

[aquart]

9. Is Dubai UAE? Because they're tweeting their annoyance.

[superconnected]

12. Allah help them if they have freedom of communication between civilians that they can't control.

That's their reason for stopping the texting.

Shows they're far scarier than even our gov and what we need to stop our gov from becoming.

And notice Arab Emirates is doing the same thing - that's the puppet gov setup to handle the mideast deals, the world banking financial corruption and corporate scandals though. It's the real center for the new offshore banking. They aren't just oil anymore they're hosting the the main offices of many of the giant global corps including much of the tech industry. Shows how much freedom the corporations in power really believe in.

[JCMach1]

18. Some of the discussion from Secret Dubai (a blog)

"BlackBerry gave them a new horizon that was not available before. Which is something that authorities would not be happy about, because people recently started to talk about their civil rights and their economic and political rights."

PROTEST UNCOVERED

He said the government was angered last month after word got out that a group of people using Messenger were attempting to organise peaceful demonstrations to protest a hike in gasoline prices.

Accused of inciting opposition to the government, this led to the arrest and interrogation of several users of BlackBerry Messenger who tried to organise the protest, according to Reporters Without Borders.

http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-50554020100801 ...

[Endangered Specie]

14. So what the fuck am I supposed to do when I want to text-Divorce my submissive wife?

:banghead:

:sarcasm:

[saigon68]

17. YOU can't get through to your Camel Jockey to fix the race

[Posteritatis]

15. Encryption is your friend, but it isn't some governments' friend... (nt)

[bullwinkle428]

19. FREEDUMB IZ ON TEH MARCH!!!1!