Saudi phone companies ordered to freeze BlackBerry Messenger

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia's telecoms regulator has ordered local operators to freeze the BlackBerry Messenger function for BlackBerry users this month, industry sources said on Sunday.

Sources from two operators in the kingdom said the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) sent a memo notifying them of the order without explaining the move.

CITC Governor Abdul Rahman Al Ja'afari could not immediately comment.

The sources said the interior ministry held a meeting last year with CITC and representatives of the three mobile telecommunciation firms operating in the kingdom to discuss ways of monitoring communication on BlackBerry handsets.