Saudi Arabia abandons BlackBerry ban

Saudi Arabia has said it will back off from its threat to ban BlackBerry services, saying discussions with Research In Motion have been fruitful.

Officials at the Communications and Information Technology Commission told Reuters their talks had produced “positive results”.

“In light of positive developments toward addressing some of the organisational requirements… the commission decided to allow BlackBerry messenger services to continue,” the Saudi Arabian CITC reportedly said.

The backdown comes after the United Arab Emirates has threatened to block BlackBerry services in October unless a comprise is reached between it and the manufacturer.

The issue is security. Both nations like to keep tabs on what its citizens are transmitting, and BlackBerry systems are encrypted too well, resulting in what both countries call “regulatory issues”.