Democracy News
India Demands Access to BlackBerry’s Encrypted Data
August 16, 2010
By: Randi Zung | Printer Friendly
On August 12, the government of India announced that it would ban the use of BlackBerry mobile devices in the country unless Research In Motion (RIM), BlackBerry’s manufacturer, agreed to give the government access to encrypted data. BBC News reported that the Canadian-owned RIM now has until August 31 to comply with the Indian government’s demands. In statement from RIM, the company said that it “maintains a consistent global standard for lawful access requirements that does not include special deals for specific countries.” The Indian government fears the devices could be used by militants and other insurgent groups to organize attacks.
Reuters reported that if the BlackBerry ban takes effect, users in India will only be able to use the devices for making calls and browsing the internet. Other functions, such as sending and receiving emails and instant messaging will be blocked. According to current user statistics, India – one of the world’s fastest growing telecommunications markets – has over 1 million BlackBerry users.
Earlier in the month, the United Arab Emirates was the first country to demand that RIM change its operating policies on the basis that the devices posed a national security risk. Shortly after, the countries of Lebanon, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait also announced plans to potentially ban the devices if RIM failed to grant them access to encrypted data. Saudi Arabia originally announced that the country’s BlackBerry ban would be enforced on August 6, but later announced that BlackBerry would be allowed to continue to operate at full functionality for the moment.
For previous news on BlackBerry, please see: http://ccd21.org/news/mena/uae_blackberry_ban.html
Sources:
Reuters – India gives RIM until Aug 31 to yield on BlackBerry
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