Kuwait wants RIM to filter BlackBerry traffic, Saudi Arabia testing three servers
By Sean Hollister 
posted August 8th 2010 1:36PM
posted August 8th 2010 1:36PM
posted August 8th 2010 1:36PM
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Engadget, you're getting too political.
@broli
Since when is reporting Blackberry news being political?
@broli
What I would like to know is how does this affect me or people actually reading this. It probably doesn't, which is why Engadget shouldn't report it.
@broli
The sad part is people here in Saudi are just so indifferent and passive about the whole thing. They're all like "Oh well, guess I should get another phone..." Something as basic as saying something negative about the regime is out of the question. It makes Iran look like Sweden.
However, I hope this post doesn't follow me around.
@broli
It's really impossible to filter out everything offensive or immoral without enormous resources! Just ask apple!
@The Dark Knight
Wow, so you are THE dude that Engadget was created to serve and entertain. We bow to you. We are not worthy. We are not worthy of having minds of our own.
@etwashoo2
When it's not about apple.
@McKirf
You got that right. Apple are immoral and offensive and they have far to many resources.
@broli UAE and the house of saud are so full of them selfs that they can't even care less about there people. Dictators must GO!
@Canucker
Well you must have only read part of what I said. "...me or people actually reading this." So you can bow all you want but it's in vain because I don't want you to bow.
ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
So it comes down to porn again....
@HellFlyer
Anon will not be happy. No one touches their porn.
@HellFlyer
These countries need to look at the big picture, frequent porn helps prevent adultery. The "moral" thing to do would be pass out free porn on the streets.
I should run for government.
@ExplicitFunction
Some -alright most- would say that porn leads to a rise in adultery... When you're taking your sexual charge away from your significant other (to a porn site), the idea of taking it to another woman becomes more accessible.
RIM must have known that this would happen, once they had conceded to India/KSA it was inevitable that other like-minded countries would follow suit.
@d0mth0ma5 I bet this isn't going to help RIM's financial outlook either. Not real cheap to build & maintain secure server facilities in multiple countries (and now every country will want the same thing).
@d0mth0ma5
Australia will be next if Labor are re-elected.
It's only right that handset manufacturers comply with the laws for each country that they intend to operate in, no exceptions.
RIM is officially going down the slippery slope now.
Censorship is ugly. RIM must be pissed off being forced to work on something. You know they like sitting on the couch being spectator.
Oh yeah. Long live porn !!!
Give an inch and they'll take a mile, RIM.
LOL, theocracies. RIM really should have stuck to their guns. Oh well, I guess they are doing what is financially in their interests.
"Failure to meet our request will result in a ban of your services in our country.
Thanks, KSA. Now that you've got RIM by the palm of your hands, we'll just mooch off the goods like some sort of goon!"
That was just a speculative answer from Kuwait if all goes wrong.
perhaps is to limit porn to only the Ruling Elites . . . ?
Funny I had a blackberry and couldn't even view web pages and I tried. Lol. Now I wonder why they aren't targeting iphone or droid? You can't view anything on a blackberry let alone something like porn.
I can't believe RIM just buckled. Now every other authoritarian nation in the world would push them around.
@RonPaulGuy
What buckle? The country wants to censor content for it's subjects -err, citizens. So what? RIM doesn't produce porn. There might be less data transfer happening because of it, but compare that lost revenue to the loss they would have by getting their service banned.
RIM needs to tell them to shove it. You don't like it we will stop selling phones there, oh and the ones we sold I guess you are all stuck with them and now cant use them...we will see how that is going to sit with all the people who bought them.
@Spidermanweb
yea but that wont work , cause a chinese company will just make blackberry clones , and RIM will go bankrupt in a week.
@IMarius: Lol, RIM wouldn't go bankrupt. RIM doesn't "need" the services of these countries. It would most definitely hurt their bottomline; however, it is not enough to bankrupt the company.
@kidphat
well o.k. that was bit over the top, but new markets like these are massive to phone companies like rim and if they lost them it would damage the company. hence the reason they they came to an agreement.
@kidphat
You are right about not RIM not "needing" these countries, but actually it have been strong market for RIM especially on the high ends. It is exactly the same for the world largest smartphone and phone manufacturer Nokia.
India in a other hand is a market that all of these brands need to be strong if they wanna look good in a future too. India have already been the largest cell phone market for couple of years and it will only be more and more important in a future.
It's funny that everyone says Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, India is so bad for asking for this, censorship happens just as much here. It's just not reported nearly as much as when other nations do it. It's much easier to point a finger at others than to look in the mirror.
@Maleboligia Yeah but at least it's legal to go out on the street and protest it when it happens here. Try that in Iran or India or Kuwait and see what happens to you. Iran had huge protests not too long ago and it died down because the government has the upper hand. Revolutions like the one that happened between in the the US in 1776 are just not possible any longer due to the modern weapons of today. It's too easy for governments with money to just put down any amount of resistance today. Especially oil money.
@ttringle we can protest here in Kuwait. But cause it's our religion we don't.
Blocking porn is a way of life here anyway.
@ttringle
Well INDIA never comes in same place as you suggested. Govt out here do not care for pron or what shit you do. They are more concerned about security.
@Maleboligia: Well, as far as I can tell, the US doesn't demand companies to comply with moral requirements. They just use the media to force the hand of said companies. Company X supports child pornography. That would most likely cause them to comply, I don't know how they handle security requirements though.
@ttringle
You kidding me about India right? Protests are all that happen (to be honest to the extreme level) and the govt has to bow almost each time. It is not KSA or Kuwait! In fact, after your 9/11, I doubt there was as much pressure from the citizens as there was after the Mumbai attacks from the Indians. The govt was shit scared and the Chief Ministers started to resign in panic (cowards). People speak! This is democracy.
India's main concern is security (terrorist attacks). Who cares about porn? Even the Prime Minister's daughter must be getting off to some goodies through BlackBerry.
@Eli Haj Many countries don't actually offer "freedom of speech" or "freedom of the press" in their binding laws. That's not to say the U.S. gets it right every time (it's run by people just like any other country so the errors and wrongdoings that happen can normally be traced back to people, not the government as a whole).
what have you done RIM...
Getting Rimmed.
It's nice to be in the USA. Censorship is an attempt at creating an illusion for the people censoring. In reality, there is no need for censorship in this way.
Any somewhat intelligent person can get around censorship if they really wanted. I find this dehumanizing, immoral, and frankly downright disturbing.
I don't see y anyone would see INDIA same as kuwait or saudie. You can do anything, what you see is only for security reasons. Recent attacks and use of bbs prompted it. No one cares about pron, or what you do in personal life. If it has to do with security, there should not be any problem.
WOOHOO
Kuwait is on Engadget
ye5asy :P
@Koopa ee 7adda :P
@Koopa
Hahaha nafs el reaction :P
@Koopa
3ashaw rabe3na!
@Koopa
...in an extremely positive way, I must add.
7aga teksif.
@iNZoW
Enta nafs inzow mal xbox live?