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RIM looks for industry forum to deal with BlackBerry spat with India | | With only five days left to reach an agreement before the Indian government bans its flagship services, Research In Motion (RIM), the Canadian maker of BlackBerry, is reaching out to form an industry forum of technology and communications players to work with the government. RIM and
the Indian government are holding last-minute talks ahead of the August 31 deadline,
when a ban on certain services is due to begin. The Indian government wants access
in a readable format to encrypted BlackBerry e-mail and instant messaging services,
on grounds that militants could use it. On the other hand, RIM maintains that
it does not do "specific deals" with countries. According to The Globe and Mail,
the industry forum's goal would be to help come up with policies that balance
what the government wants with what RIM needs - the ability to assure customers
that their e-mail and data are secure. RIM said in a statement that it is "extending
an offer to the Government of India whereby RIM would lead an industry forum focused
on supporting the lawful access needs of law enforcement agencies while preserving
the legitimate information security needs of corporations and other organizations
in India." RIM also tried to frame the looming ban as damaging India's image as
a safe and rational place to do business. "Banning such strong encryption-based
information and communications services would severely limit the effectiveness
and productivity of India's corporations," the statement added. Earlier, the Indian
Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had directed all telecom service providers
to ensure that a technical solution for interception and monitoring of Blackberry
services in readable format is made available to the Law Enforcing Agencies by
August 31. "In case no solution is provided, those services which can not be intercepted
and monitored in readable format may be banned by the government," said Sachin
Pilot, Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology. There
are an estimated one million BlackBerry subscribers in the country. |
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