Apple and Microsoft in Talks with UAE to End Ban on FaceTime and Skype

Apple and Microsoft are both in talks with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to end a ban on FaceTime and Skype. Voice-over-IP (VOIP) services face are banned in the UAE to protect local telecom monopolies, but the government also tends towards authoritarianism and listens in on communications of its citizens and vast numbers of foreign guest workers.

It’s that last bit that may be the biggest sticking point in negotiations. Apple uses end-to-end encryption that makes surveillance effectively impossible. Microsoft, too, recently added end-to-end encryption on Skype. For Apple, at least, there is no work around for that encryption, and it would be stunning if Apple allowed a version of FaceTime without it. As it is, the FaceTime app and capabilities aren’t included on iPhones sold in the UAE.

According to CNBC, iPhones purchases outside the UAE can use FaceTime inside the country, but with only mixed results. Skype was banned in more aggressively banned after it added end-to-end encryption earlier this year.

Business Matters

Which is wear business enters the picture. The UAE wants to develop stronger relations with tech giants, and it also wants to encourage more domestic investment. CNBC reported that Microsoft has been building data centers in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Apple has been increasing its retail footprint in the country.

It’s with this complex backdrop that the UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) entered into discussions with Apple and Microsoft, going so far as to confirm those talks with the press. Microsoft, too, confirmed the chats, while Apple has remained mum.

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