Cache

August 04, 2010 at 7:52am

It's always about power.  If deals going on between known businesses and businessmen are gleaned for information, the UAE will be able to position itself more financially capable than any other governments.  It will have an edge.  It will know what to invest in, it will be able to read emails and know when a project is dangerously close to failure. 

The UAE wants to win at any cost, and is trying to force Blackberry to comply so that they can have better finances than anyone else in the Middle East, and attribute it all to their business saavy when it is nothing more than monitoring private and confidential business information.  If you have to do business in the Middle East--look elsewhere.

tsathoggua

August 04, 2010 at 1:55am

China and the UAE need to quit enacting total control plans for our US government to lust after.

maseone

August 03, 2010 at 11:09pm

once again...  =)

schwit

August 03, 2010 at 7:50pm

Don't the thugs understand they are fighting a losing battle.

naxself

August 03, 2010 at 7:41pm

The UAE is trying to blackmail RIM, pure and simple. The UAE has a lot more to lose on this than RIM does.

mumm

August 03, 2010 at 7:07pm

So the first message I see here is: Blackberry is secure. That is why they want to ban it.

And the second message is: all the other phones are NOT.

I guess Blackberry is the only phone company that uses their own servers, with the result that data going through Etisalat is encrypted.

It is all about control.

In a way I can understand why they may want to ban it: for the sake of the country's security. UAE is the most stable country in the middle east.

Take for granted that all phone conversations are recorded, and all internet data has been compromised.

 

Tenhawk

August 03, 2010 at 6:09pm

These moves by government agencies, both abroad and local, are a disturbing trend. It seems that a day no longer passes without some group or another pressuring their way into the affairs of civilian businesses. While I can understand the government passing a request, WITH appropriate paperwork and legal authorization, to a company and asking for their cooperation in the pursuit of a legal or security investigation, this goes well beyond that.

Governments should NOT have unfettered access to private civilian communications. And while it's tempting to view this as a problem in the middle east, and Google's recent issues as a Chinese issue, it's important to remember that our own rights are under near constant attack at home. Granted, the American, Canadian, and European governments are a little more subtle about it, but they're clearly not looking out for our rights as private citizens anymore.

The present it as an issue of privacy versus security, but more and more often it's simply an issue of power accumulation in government so that they can more easily serve the people who pay them under the proverbial table and in the back room. At what point do we say that enough is enough?

I would love to tell Research in Motion to damn the torpedoes, call them on their bluff and see what the UAE does when faced with the ire of several thousand BILLIONAIRES who want to use the phones they legally purchased... but I can't. I want to see it happen, but I have too little faith in human nature to be able to say 'call their bluff' with a clear conscience. What I WOULD love to see is Google and Apple step into line with RIM and say 'Cut one of our servers off, we'll shut them all down.'

That is a threat that even they should be able to understand.

Keith E. Whisman

August 03, 2010 at 6:04pm

Sounds like China. Are you sure that's not China?

Keith E. Whisman

August 03, 2010 at 6:04pm

Sounds like China. Are you sure that's not China?

BrandNewJesus

August 03, 2010 at 5:59pm

"user data available on request"...Primarily business users. Talk about corporate espionage. Businessman Beware, if you can use your blackberry after October in the UAE/ (riches city in the world thanks to artificially high oil prices), you probably Don't want to use rim's products anymore, anywhere ever again.

 

PS/  Every time I see Ryan's pic in the thumbnail I think,...What is Will Smith posting on maxpc for? Must be the beard.