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Edition: U.S. Article Comments (0) Save Email Print Reprints Most Popular Most Shared UPDATE 1-Obama attacks Bush policies in Bush's home state 09 Aug 2010 Nikkei slips, weighed by China stock fall on data 12:22am EDT Obama attacks Bush policies in Bush's home state 09 Aug 2010 Pentagon to shut military command, cut jobs 09 Aug 2010 Economists cut forecasts and see more Fed action 1:22am EDT Unstable lake threatens mudslide-ravaged China town | Video 3:35am EDT Cancer cells slurp up fructose, US study finds 02 Aug 2010 Verizon, Google propose Web traffic rules 09 Aug 2010 Dollar rises as stocks slip on caution before Fed 2:58am EDT HP's Hurd latest CEO to get lucrative exit payout 09 Aug 2010 UPDATE 1-Obama attacks Bush policies in Bush's home state 09 Aug 2010 Russian drought fires 09 Aug 2010 Cancer cells slurp up fructose, US study finds 02 Aug 2010 Steward bolts from JFK plane via emergency chute 09 Aug 2010 Editor's Choice 09 Aug 2010 TEXT-Oracle CEO Ellison's comments on exit of HP's Hurd 09 Aug 2010 Verizon, Google propose Web traffic rules 09 Aug 2010 Obama attacks Bush policies in Bush's home state 09 Aug 2010 Freddie Mac says needs $1.8 billion from taxpayers 09 Aug 2010 Man dies in final of sauna championships 09 Aug 2010 Gulf activists brace as BlackBerry secrecy targeted Digg This Tweet This Share on LinkedIn Share on Facebook A man tests a BlackBerry phone at a shopping mall in Dubai August 2, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Mosab Omar Factbox Factbox: BlackBerry under fire from states seeking access Sun, Aug 8 2010 Related News BlackBerry users guessing in Saudi, assured in Oman Mon, Aug 9 2010 BlackBerry in bid to address Saudi security concerns Mon, Aug 9 2010 Gulf BlackBerry row lifts veil on state cyberspies Sun, Aug 8 2010 Saudi and RIM talks progress as BlackBerry ban looms Fri, Aug 6 2010 Analysis & Opinion Gulf BlackBerry row lifts veil on state cyberspies Related Topics Technology » iPad » Regulatory News » By Erika Solomon and Frederik Richter DUBAI/MANAMA | Mon Aug 9, 2010 6:36pm EDT DUBAI/MANAMA (Reuters) - Political activists in Gulf states where the maker of BlackBerry faces possible bans say its messaging service boosted their ranks, and they are now on the hunt for new ways to evade authorities. "Social concerns" have been overshadowed by security warnings as governments from India to Algeria prod Research In Motion for access to encrypted BlackBerry programs, particularly its free Messenger texting service. "Messenger was revolutionary for people here," said UAE lawyer and human rights activist Abdel Hamid. "It awakened them. That's something that won't just disappear." BlackBerry Messenger was unique in its immediacy, ease of use, and secure encryption; It wasn't a Facebook page to maintain, or an e-mail the government could monitor. While numbers on those using the encrypted service for activism or simple dissent are hard to establish, activists say such ranks are growing. "It brought us new people we hadn't reached before. Not everybody uses the Internet but everyone uses the phone," said Nabeel Rajab, of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, who used BlackBerry to attract a few thousand online followers. Many Gulf residents were once silenced by anxieties over state-monitored mobile phones and Internet. Criticism was stifled and protests banned, and political debate was rare. Activists in the United Arab Emirates, which threatened to suspend not only Messenger but emailing and web browsing on BlackBerry in October, say they may have helped prompt the ban. "When BlackBerry came, I started to get messages criticizing the government from people I'd never seen involved in activism. Regular people started discussing taboo subjects," said Ahmed Mansour, a UAE blogger. "It widened the circle of interest." Messenger campaigns in the UAE have included critiques of state officials and attempts to organize protests. A UAE police officer was fired after sending BlackBerry messages to encourage protests against rising fuel prices, the Arabic daily Al Emarat al Youm reported on Monday. These efforts mirror events across the Middle East where Facebook has helped organize Egyptian democratic reform protests and Twitter and texts were used in Iranian protests against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election last year. CAT AND MOUSE Banning BlackBerry services will intensify the game of cat and mouse with censors, activists say. UAE users, like those in Saudi, are messaging each other to plot alternatives, including reverting to using proxy servers to evade censors, or anonymous forums and emails until the authorities shut them down. "There is competition between governments and activists: The governments here ban, and the activists try to break it," said Rajab regarding Gulf users. UAE-based Mansour said Gulf governments overlooked Messenger for a long time, even as the service fueled sales across the region, led by Saudi Arabia with more than 700,000 users. "Not everyone knew about encryption. They just knew the government didn't seem to notice," he said. He and others believe that Messenger, as with technologies that came before it, will be hard for users to relinquish. "A lot of these youngsters don't even set up an email account, they are more attached to these new gadgets." In Saudi Arabia, young people use Messenger to communicate covertly with members of the opposite sex -- a form of dissent, if not activism, in the conservative Islamic country. Skype may be one alternative should countries ban or begin to monitor Messenger. Activists say international partners are already training them to use the encrypted Internet telephony system and evade censorship. Across the Gulf, governments are revealing various concerns, with Bahrain having cautioned against using BlackBerry to distribute local news while Kuwait wants a block on pornography. Saudi Arabia is working on servers which may make it easier for authorities there to monitor BlackBerry traffic while the UAE so far is sticking to plans for its sweeping ban. "This will definitely impact the level of activism until a secure alternative is found. Until then, I guess we are back to Facebook," Mansour said. (Editing by Jason Neely and Charles Dick) Technology iPad Regulatory News Add a Comment *We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language or appear to be spam and review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. © Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters Editorial Editions: Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom United States Reuters Contact Us Advertise With Us Help Journalism Handbook Archive Site Index Video Index Reader Feedback Mobile Newsletters RSS Podcasts Widgets Your View Analyst Research Thomson Reuters Copyright Disclaimer Privacy Professional Products Professional Products Support Financial Products About Thomson Reuters Careers Online Products Acquisitions Monthly Buyouts Venture Capital Journal International Financing Review Project Finance International PEhub.com PE Week FindLaw Reuters on Facebook Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

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