BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) will continue to operate in Pakistan after the government dropped server access request. For the better part of last year, the Canadian company was entangled in a fierce stand off as the government pushed for unfettered access to user’s information. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has been pushing to gain access to emails and BBM exchanges which the software giant maintains amounts to a violation of people’s privacy.
Government Rescinds Shutdown Order
With the standoff sorted out, BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) has opted to reverse its earlier decision to exit the market. Rather than lose the trust and confidence of customers around the globe when it comes to privacy the company planned to exit the Pakistani market.
“After productive discussions, the government of Pakistan has rescinded its shutdown order, and Blackberry has decided to remain in the Pakistan market,” wrote BlackBerry boss Marty Beard in a blog.
BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) has always insisted on its willingness to share information involving investigation of specific crimes. However, that is not what the Pakistani government has been pushing for all along. The government was pushing for a backdoor that it hoped to use to gain a free pass to view the private communication of anyone at any time.
The Pakistani government has always insisted it wanted access to the messages to help fight terrorism and crime.
BlackBerry has built its reputation on providing customers the highest level of security when it comes to its products. Its reputation on security is second to none. It has continued to buy specialized software firms and continued to market its phones on their privacy features.
Stand Off Against the Use of Encryptions
Pakistan is not the only country that has been pushing for backdoors on the so end-to-end encrypted traffic. A fierce debate is already raging in the US as authorities push for backdoors to access secure transmissions and storage servers of technology companies. China has already approved a controversial law that gives officials powers to demand cryptographic keys on proprietary encryption implementations.
Exiting Pakistani would have piled more pressure on BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY). The Canadian company has been forced to look for new growth opportunities in emerging markets having come under pressure in developed markets.
