A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Friday, October 8, 2010

Emiratis Will Keep Their Blackberries

The UAE's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, which had threatened to cut service to Blackberries on October 10, has announced that Research in Motion (RIM), the Canadian firm behind Blackberry, is now in compliance with UAE requirements and that Emiratis will be able to continue using their Blackberries.

The UAE set the October deadline last summer when the Saudis were threatening to shut down Blackberry service (see earlier posts here).

Though the Emiratis get to keep their Blackberries, they presumably understand that the government may be reading their mail now.

2 comments:

Davi said...

Natives to the Middle East assume their communications are subject to monitoring. UAE citizens will not be overly concerned by their government's deal with RIMM, and many of them are glad that someone is keeping tabs on the majority of the population who are expatriates.

David Mack said...

Previous comment from David Mack.