BlackBerry to Leave Pakistan over Privacy and Surveillance Issues
BlackBerry would rather leave the Pakistan market than grant the country's government unfettered access to its customers' communication data.
On Monday, BlackBerry Chief Operating Officer Marty Beard announced in a blog post that Pakistan is giving them until Dec. 30 to comply with the surveillance policies or else be shut down. The tech firm, however, has chosen to preserve its clients' privacy and exit Pakistan altogether, according to ZDNet.
"While we regret leaving this important market and our valued customers there, remaining in Pakistan would have meant forfeiting our commitment to protect our users' privacy," ZDNet quotes Beard's statement in the blog announcement. "That is a compromise we are not willing to make."
Beard explained that the Pakistani government wanted to monitor all the messages, emails, and other communication data of BlackBerry customers in the country for security purposes. But because the firm refused to comply, Pakistan would no longer allow it to operate, Breaking News reports.
Pakistan was only targeting BlackBerry's BES servers, but the tech firm decided to leave the country altogether to avoid compromising their customers' information, the report adds.
In July, a document was leaked showing details of a meeting in which three of the biggest phone companies in the country were ordered to halt their encrypted messaging service. The Pakistani Telecommunications Authority also announced that BlackBerry's BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES) servers would not be allowed to operate anymore in the country, the report details.
Beard explained that although they were willing to assist authorities in investigating criminal activity, they are not caving in to the demands of the Pakistani government for unfettered access to their BES customers' data because it does not cover public safety.
BlackBerry was supposed to exit Pakistan by the end of November. However, the government delayed the shutdown by a month, so the firm agreed to remain in the country for another month.
