India Gains on RIM with Manual Access to Messages – Still After Automated Access
The Indian government now has manual access to BlackBerry messages. It’s a step India’s hopeful about, with goals of receiving automated access to messages in the coming months. Officials here, sharing their concerns with several other countries regarding the potentially dangerous uses of the BlackBerry smartphone, is threatening Canada-based Research in Motion with a ban of its products unless it’s given an automatic access to the BB messenger services.
“We have manual access to the messenger services. We want automated access and we are hopeful of getting that from January 1”, as quoted from India’s home secretary G.K. Pillai at Reuters.
There are growing concerns that the Blackberry may be used for radical purposes or new-age terrorism, using this topic as a hotbed for discussing the legalities of communications devices, networks and access. It has spawned a series of legal issues with the BlackBerry in India and other countries. This is only the latest development in a prolonged battle.
RIM has offered, as reported by the Indian interior ministry on August 30, several ways for authorities to monitor the Blackberry communications. These will be tested for their effectiveness throughout 60 full days.
Among the other countries having similar concerns to the Indian’s are Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, as these had set a deadline for October 11th for RIM. Saudi Arabia had also has its apprehension regarding online pornography, and reached a deal with the company on access to the BlackBerry Messenger instant messaging service.
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