Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Yahoo!
My Yahoo!
Mail
More Yahoo! Services
Account Options
New User? Sign Up
Sign In
Help
Yahoo! Search
web search
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Saudi watchdog backtracks on BlackBerry ban
AFP - 1 hour 31 minutes ago
Send
IM Story
Print
RIYADH (AFP) - – Saudi Arabia on Tuesday postponed indefinitely a BlackBerry ban after a deadline passed for finding a solution allowing authorities to monitor encrypted messages on the popular smartphone.
The telecoms watchdog in the ultra-conservative Muslim country announced BlackBerry messenger services would remain online, as it reported progress in efforts to find a solution, in a statement on state news agency SPA.
The Communications and Information Technology Commission had ordered mobile operators to block the BlackBerry feature from last Friday or face a 1.3-million-dollar (985,000 euro) fine, after similar moves by other Arab states.
After days of reported talks and testing of possible solutions by the operators, CITC said on Tuesday it had "decided to allow the continuation of BlackBerry messenger service."
It said it was continuing "to work with service providers to complete the remainder of the regulatory requirements" for BlackBerrys, which are made by Canadian company Research in Motion (RIM).
The reprieve, it added, was due to "positive developments in the completion of part of the regulatory requirements on the part of service providers."
Asked whether an agreement had been reached that allows CITC to monitor messages, Sultan al-Malik, a spokesman for the watchdog, told AFP he could not discuss "technical details" related to the issue.
The kingdom's BlackBerry users welcomed the move, saying the regulator had made the right call.
CITC "has taken the right decision," said 19-year-old university student Sahar Mohammed.
"I don't know why they've made such a big deal out of this," she said, adding that "they should have reached an agreement without making us go through all that discomfort last week."
The phones are a popular means of communication between men and women in Saudi Arabia, where sexes are strictly segregated.
"I would have died... if the service was stopped even for three days," Alonood Oseilan wrote on the wall of a Facebook group set up by a number of Saudi youths to protest the announced service ban.
Khaled al-Harthi, a 21-year-old university student, said he rushed off to buy a new BlackBerry to celebrate the occasion.
"I already have a BlackBerry but as I'm happy the service will continue, I decided to buy another one," he said.
Last week, CITC said its decision to suspend the services had been due to the fact that "the way BlackBerry services are provided currently does not meet the regulatory criteria of the commission and the licensing conditions."
Among the reported possible solutions is the installation of a local server accessible to Saudi authorities, instead of the data going directly to RIM's Canadian servers.
On Monday, local daily Okaz quoted a source at one of the monarchy's three mobile phone companies as saying the "tests on the server and requested programmes... have been successful."
Another telecoms official also said talks between CITC and RIM have ended in "reaching a solution accepted by all parties," according to Al-Shams daily.
More than 700,000 Saudis subscribe to BlackBerry, with most reportedly purchasing the smartphone for personal use.
But Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, has expressed fears the hand-held device could jeopardise its security.
The threat of a Saudi ban came hot on the heels of an announcement by the telecoms authority in the United Arab Emirates that it would ban BlackBerry messenger, email and web browsing from October 11, for similar reasons.
The UAE telecoms regulator said last week that its decision to suspend the services was "final," but that it remained open to discussions to find a "regulatory-compliant solution," meaning a resolution that would allow monitoring could still be possible.
Outside the Arab world, India is mulling a ban and Indonesia is not ruling out the option, although on Thursday it denied the world's largest Muslim nation was considering a suspension of BlackBerry services.
India plans to set a deadline later this week for operators to allow security agencies access to encrypted BlackBerry messages or else face disconnection, the Hindustan Times quoted a home ministry official as saying.
Later, an official said the home ministry plans to meet mobile operators on Thursday to discuss allowing security agencies access to encrypted BlackBerry messages.
Indian law stipulates phone companies have the responsibility to ensure that intelligence agencies can lawfully monitor data handled by them.
Recommend
Send
IM Story
Print
Related Articles
US-TECH Summary Reuters - 18 minutes ago
Obama signs 'libel tourism' bill AFP - 46 minutes ago
Saudi watchdog backtracks on BlackBerry ban AFP - 1 hour 31 minutes ago
Putin wants Russian satnav system in new cars from 2012 AFP - 2 hours 31 minutes ago
Florida to sue major LCD makers for price fixing Reuters - Wednesday, August 11
News Search
Top Stories
Chelsea agree Carvalho fee with Real
A long, hot Ramadan for many devout Muslims
BP spill cases to be heard in New Orleans
US Fed promises stimulus to help slowing recovery
InterContinental Hotels to create 160,000 jobs worldwide
More Top Stories »
ADVERTISEMENT
Most Popular
Most Viewed
Most Recommended
Sauna contest in Finland cut short as Russian dies
Massive ice island breaks off Greenland glacier
Visitors attack Taiwan 'haunted house' actors
BP spends $6.1 bln on Gulf spill response
Extreme weather fuels debate over global warming
More Most Viewed »
Argentine students crack three-decade-old murder mystery
40 US billionaires pledge half wealth to charity
World's first full face transplant man appears on TV
Calcium supplements linked to heart attacks: study
Massive ice island breaks off Greenland glacier
More Most Recommended »
Elsewhere on Yahoo!
Financial news on Yahoo! Finance
Stars and latest movies
Best travel destinations
More on Yahoo! News
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Subscribe to our news feeds
Top StoriesMy Yahoo!RSS
» More news feeds | What are news feeds?
Also on Yahoo
Answers
Groups
Mail
Messenger
Mobile
Travel
Finance
Movies
Sports
Games
» All Yahoo! Services
Site Highlights
Singapore
Full Coverage
Most Popular
Asia Entertainment
Photos
World Cup 2010