If you thought RIM was going to cave to foreign countries’ demands to weaken the security of the BlackBerry platform, you were sorely mistaken. RIM’s response is actually quite refreshing (and comical) in an age where big business and government politics are trumping individual freedoms and privacy left and right.
Specifically, when questioned about the recent BlackBerry bans spreading around the Middle East, Mike Lazaridis, RIM’s co-CEO had a few choice sentences:
This is about the Internet,” Mr. Lazaridis said. “Everything on the Internet is encrypted. This is not a BlackBerry-only issue. If they can’t deal with the Internet, they should shut it off.
We have dealt with this before,” Mr. Lazaridis said. “This will get resolved. And it will get resolved if there is a chance for rational discussion.
Although Mr. Lazaridis said RIM wouldn’t compromise the security of its products, he acknowledged the company would have to cooperate with authorities if handed a court order to do a lawful intercept of a person’s communications. “I would give them the encrypted stream,” he said. “It would have to be like a wiretap.”
We are going to continue to work with them to make sure they understand the reality of the Internet,” he said. “A lot of these people don’t have Ph.Ds, and they don’t have a degree in computer science.”
Clearly, RIM isn’t bending over. ‘Tis a proud day to be a BlackBerry user. RIM’s got your back.
Update
Yeah, about that proud, warm feeling over RIM’s hard stance — it was all talk. Local servers are being placed in Saudi Arabia as we speak. So much for consumers’ best interests and privacy.
Source:
BerryReview
BBRocks
WSJ
