UAE BlackBerry ban sets dangerous precedent: US

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

"We are committed to promoting the free flow of information," said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley. "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 October 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.

"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," Crowley said, adding that the United States makes the same argument to Iran and China.

"We think it sets a dangerous precedent," he said. "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 U.S. government's own approach to telecommunication regulation.

"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 U.S. and other governments and nothing more," Otaiba said.

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

Meanwhile, The Economic Times reported that RIM has agreed to allow Indian security agencies to monitor its BlackBerry services after pressure from governments worried about national security.

RIM has offered to share with Indian security agencies its technical codes for corporate email services, open up access to all consumer emails within 15 days and also develop tools in six to eight months to allow monitoring of chats, the paper said, citing internal government documents, the report said.

RIM on Monday pledged to satisfy the security needs both of customers and governments, a day after the United Arab Emirates threatened to cut off some BlackBerry services because authorities could not access encrypted messaging data.

India has raised security concerns with BlackBerry services, but is not planning a ban, the country's internal security chief said last week, adding the company had assured them that it would be addressing Indian government's concerns.