Blackberry blackout, media fallout
A proposed ban on Blackberry services in two Gulf countries overshadow the launch of the latest handset in the region
It was set to be a great month for Blackberry with the launch of its “iPhone killer”, the Torch 9800 sliderphone. Instead, on 1 August the UAE and Saudi Arabia announced imminent bans on Blackberry services, sending Blackberry shares into a spin as the story was picked up by all the international press. And so began a flurry of brinkmanship, misinformation and smoke and mirrors.
The proposed bans relate to Blackberry maker Canada’s Research In Motion (Rim)’s encryption policy. Rim is the only smartphone-maker that manages the traffic of messages sent via its equipment, encrypting and sending data offshore.
This has proven to be a double-edged sword. It has given Rim a unique selling point in its Blackberry Messenger – a secure, instant and free Blackberry-to-Blackberry messaging service between users who have shared their pin numbers with each other. This is particularly popular in the Middle East, where mobile services can be costly. However, it has brought Blackberry to the attention of governments keen to monitor communications; there were private conversations with Russia and China before Blackberry could begin operating in those countries.
The relationship between the UAE and Rim has been souring for some time. In 2009, prompted by a text message, Etisalat Blackberry users in the UAE were encouraged to download a software update to their smartphones, which resulted in many phones crashing or their batteries draining. Rim made it clear it considered the patch to be spyware, denying any involvement and providing a further update to allow users to remove Etisalat’s software. It stated: “Etisalat appears to have distributed a telecommunications surveillance application … independent sources have concluded that it is possible that the installed software could then enable unauthorised access to private or confidential information stored on the user’s smartphone.”
Having struck an eleventh-hour agreement with Saudi Arabia, and with the UAE saying it is still open to negotiation, it looks likely Rim is rethinking its policy. Meanwhile, it has been a damaging month for all concerned.
25 July
- The UAE’s Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA) issues a statement saying Blackberry “operates beyond the jurisdiction of national legislation”
1 August
- The TRA announces that it will block access to the Blackberry services from 11 October for the UAE’s 500,000 Blackberry users because of “judicial, social and national security concerns”. Saudi Arabia says it will enforce a ban from Friday
- Rim denies reports by India’s Economic Times that it will allow India to monitor encrypted Blackberry emails
2 August
- It emerges that the bans will also affect international visitors, including the 100,000 travellers who pass through Dubai airport every day
- A spokesman for US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the ban sets a “dangerous precedent” and calls it “a move in the wrong direction”
- Yousuf al-Otaiba, UAE Ambassador to the United States, describes the US State Department’s comments as “disappointing and contradicting the US government’s own approach to telecommunications regulation”
3 August
- Rim responds to a report in India’s Economic Times, saying the firm will allow Indian security authorities to monitor Blackberry services
- Etisalat announces its alternative packages for Blackberry users, including a smartphone if customers sign up for an additional 12 months
- Blackberry reveals the Torch 9800
4 August
- Rim’s co-chief executive officer Michael Lazaridis responds to the bans: “This is about the internet. Everything on the internet is encrypted. This is not a Blackberry-only issue. If they can’t deal with the internet, they should shut it off”
- Du announces its Blackberry Assurance plan, starting 1 September. National subscribers get a AED1,500 discount on a new smartphone; international subscribers a AED2,000 discount. All plans come with first six months free for national users and a 50 per cent discount for international plans
5 August
- Rim share price drops 9.2 per cent on the Nasdaq exchange from 30 July’s $57.53 down to $52.23
- Indonesia denies it is considering a ban on Blackberry services
- Lebanon’s telecoms minister, Charbel Nahhas, says Lebanon is preparing for talks with Rim and hopes to access Blackberry information
- Canada comes to Rim’s aid – Rim being one of Canada’s biggest exports – with International Trade Minister Peter Van Loan saying the government is working with Rim to try to solve the dispute
- Saudi firms are in last-minute talks with Blackberry, citing an official from one of the kingdom’s three telecom companies as saying, “there are big hopes in convincing” RIM “to provide Saudi Arabia with a local server”. Meanwhile the UAE’s TRA says it is open to discussions, but the decision “to suspend certain Blackberry services from 11 October is final”
6 August
- Reporters Without Borders condemns the Blackberry bans. “The ‘national security’ argument is just a pretext,” it says. “What really bothers the countries that use this pretext is their inability to monitor Blackberry’s services.”
- Saudi Arabia’s ban does not go into effect, although there are temporary disruptions
- Algeria is reviewing a ban
7 August
- Rim loses $2.3bn in stock value
- Al-Arabiya reports that Rim and Saudi Arabia have come to an agreement
8 August
- Saudi Arabia gives a 48-hour grace period on its ban “to test the suggested solutions”
- Kuwait in talks with Rim: No ban for now but Kuwait confirms it has asked Rim to block pornographic sites
- Bahrain says it has no plans to follow the Blackberry ban
9 August
- iPhone sales double in UAE
10 August
- Saudi Arabia’s Communications and Information Technology Commission indefinitely extends its reprieve on Blackberry. In a statement from the SPA news agency, the regulator says it “decided to allow the continuation of Blackberry messenger services” while it “continues to work with service providers to complete the remainder of the regulatory requirements”
- Oman says it has no plans to ban Blackberry services
11 August
- Rim agrees to hand over user codes to allow Saudi authorities to monitor Blackberry Messenger
12 August
- India threatens to temporarily shut down Blackberry services if security concerns are not addressed by Rim
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