The Associated Press reports that both UAE and Saudi Arabia are set to ban BlackBerry messaging services. Research in Motion, the Canadian maker of the popular communications device used by business and corporate users worldwide had been in talks with UAE authorities from 2007 over the issue, the report said.
The Gulf states' concerns are similar to what Indian authorities have been raising over the last couple of years -- the encrypted messages that zip between BlackBerrys cannot be intercepted, and that terrorists could make use of the devices and the network to plan attacks.
Why the Indian authorities chose to remain quiet after raising a hue and cry is a mystery. Contrast that to how the two Gulf states have wielded their power to deliver a strong no-nonsense message to the Canadian company.
Why the Indian authorities chose to remain quiet after raising a hue and cry is a mystery. Contrast that to how the two Gulf states have wielded their power to deliver a strong no-nonsense message to the Canadian company.
While there would never be an end to the debate on whether it is right to ban the service or not, what I loathe about the Indian authorities is their apparent surrender to the arrogance of the foreign company.
Many of these western companies still think India is a banana republic and they can get away with what they want to do; think of how Canada denied visas to Indian security officials recently.
These companies still are living in a time warp and would like to believe they are the master of the world.
Whether India would end up banning the BlackBerry or not, we need to send companies like RIM a strong message -- that we will tolerate no nonsense when it comes to national security.
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