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BlackBerry Exits Pakistan Amid User Privacy Concerns (blackberry.com)

Posted by timothy on from the where-are-you-and-for-how-long? dept.

An anonymous reader writes: BlackBerry has announced that it will pull its operations in Pakistan from today, quoting a recent government notice which read that the company would not be permitted to continue its services in the country after December for 'security reasons.' In a blog post released by BlackBerry today, chief operating officer Marty Beard confirmed the decision: 'The truth is that the Pakistani government wanted the ability to monitor all BlackBerry Enterprise Service traffic in the country, including every BES e-mail and BES BBM message.' He added: 'BlackBerry will not comply with that sort of directive.'

2 of 71 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Hooray by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I suspect their "smidgen of ethics" is a convenient excuse to pull out of a market in which they don't make money. Where there's money to be made, ethics usually go out the window.

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
  2. In Pakistan it's illegal, but in the US... by geekmux · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...it's practically welcomed and encouraged, as demonstrated by the COO of Blackberry practically bragging about their new "lawful device interception" features a week ago.

    You either shun state-sponsored surveillance or you embrace it. Make up your fucking mind already before you attempt another RIM job with the 17 customers you have left.