RIM may block porn in Kuwait
By Devidutta Tripathy and Tamara Walid |
August 4, 2010, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
BLACKBERRY maker Research In Motion is willing to block porn sites and let government spies snoop on users, newspapers reported yesterday, following a shock ban on its key services in the Gulf.
The BlackBerry's secrecy has come under scrutiny since Sunday, when the United Arab Emirates said it would ban BlackBerry Messenger, e-mail and web browser services from October 11.
Like the UAE, India's government has applied pressure on national security grounds, and RIM has now agreed to allow security authorities there to monitor BlackBerry services, The Economic Times newspaper reported yesterday.
RIM has given "initial approval" to block 3,000 porn sites at the request of Kuwait's communications ministry, Kuwaiti daily al-Jarida said.
Kuwait also has security concerns, the report said, noting the government was working with RIM and telecom companies on "legal controls that would guarantee national security on the one hand, and the rights of citizens ... to use the device's services on the other."
Saudi Arabia has also asked service providers to cut off Messenger, industry sources told Reuters.
Unlike rivals Nokia and iPhone maker Apple, RIM controls its own networks which handle encrypted messages through centers in Canada and the United Kingdom.
That has made the BlackBerry popular as a secure way to communicate, but has worried intelligence agencies who fear the system could be used by militants.
The UAE has increased security efforts since it arrested two men in 2009 for plotting to plant a bomb near a massive shopping center with nearly 4,000 shops in Dubai, the Middle East's trade and business hub. In January, Dubai was rocked by the assassination of a Palestinian Hamas commander in a luxury hotel which police said was the work of Israeli agents.
The Canadian firm, keen to clear the air after the UAE's threatened ban and before yesterday's expected launch of a new BlackBerry dubbed its "iPhone killer," said on Monday it would respect both customers and governments.
"RIM does not disclose confidential regulatory discussions that take place with any government," it said, without elaborating.
The BlackBerry's secrecy has come under scrutiny since Sunday, when the United Arab Emirates said it would ban BlackBerry Messenger, e-mail and web browser services from October 11.
Like the UAE, India's government has applied pressure on national security grounds, and RIM has now agreed to allow security authorities there to monitor BlackBerry services, The Economic Times newspaper reported yesterday.
RIM has given "initial approval" to block 3,000 porn sites at the request of Kuwait's communications ministry, Kuwaiti daily al-Jarida said.
Kuwait also has security concerns, the report said, noting the government was working with RIM and telecom companies on "legal controls that would guarantee national security on the one hand, and the rights of citizens ... to use the device's services on the other."
Saudi Arabia has also asked service providers to cut off Messenger, industry sources told Reuters.
Unlike rivals Nokia and iPhone maker Apple, RIM controls its own networks which handle encrypted messages through centers in Canada and the United Kingdom.
That has made the BlackBerry popular as a secure way to communicate, but has worried intelligence agencies who fear the system could be used by militants.
The UAE has increased security efforts since it arrested two men in 2009 for plotting to plant a bomb near a massive shopping center with nearly 4,000 shops in Dubai, the Middle East's trade and business hub. In January, Dubai was rocked by the assassination of a Palestinian Hamas commander in a luxury hotel which police said was the work of Israeli agents.
The Canadian firm, keen to clear the air after the UAE's threatened ban and before yesterday's expected launch of a new BlackBerry dubbed its "iPhone killer," said on Monday it would respect both customers and governments.
"RIM does not disclose confidential regulatory discussions that take place with any government," it said, without elaborating.
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