Democracy News
Indian Government Reviews BlackBerry Proposals; Proposes Curbs to Google and Skype
August 31, 2010
By: Randi Zung | Printer Friendly
Earlier in the month, the government of India announced plans to ban the use of BlackBerry mobile devices in the country unless the Canadian-owned manufacturer Research In Motion (RIM) agreed to give the government access to its network. The Indian government stated that BlackBerry devices posed a threat to national security because of their ability to transmit encrypted messages. As previously announced, the ban would only allow BlackBerry users to make telephone calls and browse the internet, stripping users of the ability to send e-mails and instant messages. According to current user statistics, there are 41 million BlackBerry users worldwide, with 1 million of those users residing within India.
Although RIM was originally given the deadline of August 31 to comply with the government’s demands, on August 30, BBC News reported that the Indian government announced that it would postpone the ban for a period of 60 days while the government reviews new proposals from RIM. Additionally, BBC News announced that the Indian government could soon begin targeting other popular telecommunications companies, such as Google or Skype. According to an official from the Indian Home Ministry, the Indian government believes that “any company with a telecoms network should be accessible.” Google, like BlackBerry, encrypts all user data. Skype, a popular online messaging service, functions similarly to BlackBerry’s instant messaging application.
In addition to working on new proposals with India, RIM continues to come under fire from Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). UAE has set a deadline of October 11 for RIM to grant the government access to its servers.
For previous news on India, please see: http://ccd21.org/news/asia/india_blackberry_ban.html
Sources:
BBC News - Blackberry gets 60-day India ban reprieve
|
