Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton Discussing BlackBerry Ban With Middle Eastern Governments

By Mauricio

The looming BlackBerry ban by countries in the Middle East is becoming a very hot issue to the point where the United States is now getting politically involved. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is apparently in discussions about the proposed ban with U.S. “partners” in the United Arab Emirates:

“We have been in touch with our partners in the U.A.E. on this matter,” Clinton said at a press conference. “It involves a very complex set of issues that we’re working on with other countries as well.”

The U.A.E. has voiced concerns about protecting national security in light of encryption that enables BlackBerry users to communicate with each other privately.

“There is a legitimate security concern,” Clinton said, “but there’s also a legitimate right of free use and access.”

I think I prefer Mike Lazaridis’ response. What do you think? You can expect a lot more news coverage on this topic as the discussions progress and I’ll be posting up the highlights here on BlackBerryRocks.com.

via Bloomberg