As of noon (local time), 700,000 Saudi subscribers cannot use their BlackBerry for e-mail, text messaging and internet. Citing security considerations, local authorities suspended its use because the information encrypted on the smartphone cannot be vetted. Algeria, UAE, Kuwait, Lebanon, India and Indonesia are looking at the possibility of doing the same. In the meantime, shares of the BlackBerry maker, RIM, plunge, wiping out US$ 2.7 billion in value.

Riyadh (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Saudi Arabia suspended BlackBerry services (e-mail, text messaging, web browsing) on Friday, depriving the country’s 700,000 subscribers of their smartphones. The result has been a major blow for Research in Motion (RIM), the maker of the blackberry, which saw its shares hammered, losing an estimated US$ 2.7 billion.

Security-conscious authorities in Saudi Arabia have said that BlackBerry services do not meet regulatory criteria and licencing conditions; for this reason, it ordered them suspended.

BlackBerry's encrypted emails and data are stored on RIM’s servers in Canada, meaning third parties like intelligence agencies cannot monitor communications.

On Sunday, the Saudi telecommunications authority decided to suspend the smartphone and on Tuesday ordered the country's mobile phone providers to block the services or face a 1.3-million-dollar fine.

Other countries might follow Saudi Arabia. The United Arab Emirates announced it would cut off BlackBerry’s messenger, e-mail and web browsing services on October 11 over security concerns.

Algeria, India, Lebanon and Kuwait are studying ways to adopt similar measures to protect national security. Indonesia denied it was considering a suspension of BlackBerry services on Thursday, but it did not rule out the option.

All of these countries claim that they would suspend BlackBerry services to stop terrorism.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said yesterday that the United States would soon hold talks with the countries planning to suspend BlackBerry services.

"We know that there is a legitimate security concern," Clinton said, but she also insisted that there was a "legitimate right of free use and access."

The United States has reached a compromise with RIM. US authorities can now decrypt communications with a court order.

Saudi and RIM officials are already discussing ways to find a solution.

Canadian Trade Minister Peter Van Loan told reporters yesterday his country’s officials are working with RIM and foreign governments to find a solution to disputes over the device.

The Saudi daily Arab News, in a report this week on its website, said that an online survey of 331 people found that 178 people were opposed to the BlackBerry ban and 153 were in favour of it.

It found that those who disagreed complained about the lack of any prior notice, with some buying their BlackBerrys just days before the suspension.

The 153 people in the poll who supported the move said BlackBerrys "have had a very negative effect on the youth."

• saudi
• arabia
• canada
• united
• states
• blackberry