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BlackBerry sticks to its mobile security and privacy stand, despite pressure in Pakistan

Julie Campbell | December 4, 2015

The company has said that it would prefer to leave that country than to open its servers to authorities there.

BlackBerry Ltd. has announced that it will be placing its previous intentions to withdraw from its Pakistan operations on hold for the moment but that it will stand firm when it comes to maintaining the mobile security and privacy of its customers.

It continues to say that it will step out of its Pakistan operations if authorities there continue to demand access to its data.

The authorities in Pakistan have been demanding “unfettered” access to all of the customer data stored on the company’s BES servers. BlackBerry has been refusing to comply with these demands and had intended to close up its business there. While it has now said that it is delaying its withdrawal, it has added that it is not changing its position when it comes to the mobile security and personal and business privacy of its customers.

The Canadian smartphone maker has said that it will keep up its mobile security and Pakistan operations until December 30.

Mobile Security - Blackberry This extension is the outcome of a compliance extension that the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority issued to its original order that was created in July. The company had already been saying that it would not breach the privacy of its customers on the BES servers and that it would leave Pakistan rather than comply with the demands being made by those authorities. It had been required to provide full access to the server content of its BlackBerry Enterprise Service by November 30, though this has been extended by another month.

While it did say that it would be willing to work with the authorities in Pakistan in order to ensure that public safety remains protected, but that the mobile security and privacy of its customers are at the highest priority to BlackBerry and that it won’t give in or even compromise when it comes to opening up all access to the authorities in the country.

Marty Beard, the BlackBerry operations chief, explained that the company does know that it is vitally important to cooperate with a government’s lawful information request when it comes to detecting criminal activity, but that it never has and never will simply open up complete access to BlackBerry’s service.

Intrusive mobile marketing boosts suspicions among French shoppers

JT | October 15, 2015

Consumers in the European country are less likely to trust ads that they feel will use their personal data.

According to the results of a recent survey conducted by the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) France, consumers in that country feel suspicious of advertising they receive over their smartphones and tablets when it becomes intrusive or will utilize their personal information.

This survey involved the participation of more than 1,000 people with smartphones or tablets.

The research was conducted on behalf of the association by GfK. Among the respondents to the survey, about 60 percent said that they felt as though brands were being invasive on their smartphones or tablets as a result of too many spam like mobile marketing messages. Another 67 percent said that they were uncomfortable with the fact that they felt as though they were sharing information with brands, even without their knowledge. On top of that 68 percent expressed that they felt as though they were being spied on through their mobile devices.

The Mobile Marketing Association France said that it is vital for companies and brands to take care with privacy.

intrusive mobile marketing suspicious security The MMA France said that the results of this survey show that it is very important that they take careful control over mobile advertising so that they will understand when consumers will find their actions to be relevant, and when they will find them to be intrusive or unwelcome.

Although 56 percent of the respondents to the survey feel that it shouldn’t be useful at all to have a company or a shop recognize them and while they haven’t any real interest in being personally welcomed when they enter a store’s physical location, it doesn’t stop there. Half of the respondents said that they did find it useful when stores use geolocation based marketing in order to provide them with discounts to the stores that they have just entered (or that they’re walking by at that moment).

This showed that it isn’t necessarily mobile marketing in general that is putting off French consumers, but it is the relevance that matters to them. Renaud Menerat, the president of MMA France explained that this research places the spotlight in the expectations that consumers have toward brands for understanding the notion of simplicity, service and transparency when it comes to their advertising overt his channel.