Due to monitoring concerns and terror fears, the United Arab Emirates will ban instant message, email and Internet browsing on the Blackberry beginning this October, according to regulators.

Though the UAE makes up a small portion of the market share for the Blackberry's maker, Canada-based Research in Motion, other governments' concerns are mounting about the inability to monitor communications on the device. India's government has expressed concern about monitoring communications for national security, criminal and anti-terrorism investigations.

A Saudi Arabian official also has announced plans for regulators to block IM services on the Blackberry. India, China and Kurwait have also reportedly requested better data-monitoring abilities from RIM.

At issue is the way that RIM processes the data. It is handled through secure Network Operations Centers throughout the world, preventing governments from gaining easy access to the data without cooperation from RIM. According to a source familiar with the situation, nations may not be able to easily access the data even through court systems. Other smartphones typically operate over more easily accessible email-based service providers without using the Blackberry's proprietary security technology.

The ban comes after an ongoing dispute about data access between RIM and the UAE. It would not affect Nokia and Apple, two Blackberry competitors.

The UAE's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority stated that the ban resulted from the "failure of ongoing attempts, dating back to 2007, to bring BlackBerry services in the UAE in line with UAE telecommunications regulations." The ban will not apply to communications through telephone or text message.

The Authority also stated that the ban is "based on the fact that, in their current form, certain BlackBerry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national-security concerns."

RIM had no immediate comment.