Threatening comments about BlackBerry smartphones from telephone regulator

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    Date: 
    26 July 2010

    The UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority warned yesterday that the use of BlackBerry smartphones posed a potential threat to national security. Accusing the company that operates the phones of operating “beyond the jurisdiction of national legislation,” the TRA said it would try to protect both consumers and the law.

    “This threat by the authorities constitutes a new offensive against BlackBerry phones and their potential for disseminating news and information,” Reporters Without Borders said. “As its servers are based abroad and its communications use encrypted networks, Research in Motion, the company that makes these phones, is not subject to local laws and is thereby avoiding the government’s attempts to have access to users’ personal data.”