US will hold talks with United Arab Emirates over Blackberry ban

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States will hold talks with the United Arab Emirates over the Gulf state's decision to ban some Blackberry services due to security concerns.

"We are taking time to consult and analyze the full the range of interests and issues at stake because we know that there is a legitimate security concern," Sec Clinton said. "But there is also a legitimate right of free use and access. So I think we will be pursuing both technical and expert discussions as we go forward." She said the issues involved are very complex and the U.S. is working with other countries on them as well. The news comes soon after Lebanon joined a list of countries raising security concerns regarding the Blackberry messaging services.

Also, Canada said it is talking to Saudi Arabia and the UAE to resolve a fight over that could jeopardize the growth of Research in Motion Ltd, the country's most important tech exporter.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation says the United States should look at its own policies before criticizing countries. Federal laws at home require a degree of regulatory control over citizens' digital information for security and law enforcement purposes. EFF pointed to the 1994 Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act, which requires the U.S. telecommunications industry to design networks and devices to make wiretapping easier. European regulators followed the United States' lead.