The United States and Israel are to blame for upcoming restrictions on BlackBerry use in the United Arab Emirates, says Dubai’s police chief, Dhahi Khalfan Tamim. Addressing questions about an impending October suspension of Blackberry services by the UAE, Tamim told the daily al-Khaleej that the U.S. “is the primary beneficiary of having no controls over the BlackBerry, as it has an interest to spy on the UAE.” Tamim noted complaints from the West about curbs on Blackberry use in the UAE but claimed that “America, Israel, Britain and other countries are allowed access to all transferred data.”
Tamim wouldn’t elaborate about why he thinks the U.S. would want to spy on an ally. Barring any last-minute reprieve like the one Blackberry won from India over similar restrictions in August, the UAE will shut off all Blackberry Internet-related services on October 11th, leaving a reported half-million users in the virtual dark.
[Reuters]
