BlackBerry is pulling out of Pakistan entirely next year, saying it won’t sell devices or services there because the government has demanded access to BlackBerry Enterprise Service emails and BBM chats.
BlackBerry Leaves Pakistan, Rejecting Government Surveillance Demands
“Remaining in Pakistan would have meant forfeiting our commitment to protect our users’ privacy,” says the company.
The Verge
Pakistan issued a shutdown order on BlackBerry services in July of this year, telling the country’s mobile phone operators the company would no longer be allowed to operate in the country after Nov. 30 due to “security reasons.” While BlackBerry could have negotiated a deal to keep its reported 5,000 Pakistani enterprise users, it instead chose to leave the country entirely. Beyond its BES services, general consumers using its BIS products will lose access as well.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
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