BlackBerry web service, more, blocked in Egypt

Compounding battles over security concerns in India, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, RIM is now said to be facing a web access blockage in Egypt. The country's government or carriers have already blocked Twitter and Facebook. Talk on Twitter suggested this is the case. The alleged curb on BlackBerry Internet Service is believed to be a response by the government to protests against corruption, which were organized using social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

Some Twitter posts maintain that not all BlackBerry services were blocked, with at least some apps still available.

The Ben Ali government's in Tunisia has already been credited to younger resistors organizing themselves through social networks and over cellphones, helping them amass in much larger numbers than through traditional methods. BlackBerry devices have often been the target of governments both legitimate and otherwise as a potential security threat. The Indian government has singled out the BlackBerry as a possible threat since it believes that, without spying on corporate e-mail, it can't track possible terrorists. In many cases the device has rarely been an essential factor in uprisings or terrorist attacks.

RIM has not yet responded or commented regarding the apparent blocks. [via TechCrunch]

By Electronista Staff

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