Australia not to ban Blackberry services

Australia will not ban BlackBerry services despite moves by Middle East nations to stop the wireless email service, The Australian reported on Thursday.

BlackBerry's Canadian maker, Research In Motion (RIM), is being pressured by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other countries for access to encrypted information on the BlackBerry.

The countries plan to ban the BlackBerry service because it allows citizens' email conversations and web surfing history to remain confidential.

Saudi Arabia's telecoms regulator said it would stop BlackBerry services from Aug. 5, while its counterpart in the UAE would make a similar move from Oct. 11.

Countries such as India have voiced concerns over RIM's tough security standards, which the Asian nation argues makes it difficult to monitor terrorist activity.

RIM said it does not give any government access to BlackBerry messenger, email, and web-browsing information.

Australia's federal Attorney-General's Department spokesman did not comment on whether it had requested access to encrypted data.

However, he confirmed that there were no bans or restrictions on BlackBerry services in Australia, nor has the government considered following in the footsteps of Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Source: Xinhua