Censorship central
Blackberry owners in Indonesia will soon be unable to access websites containing pornographic elements after Research in Motion (RIM) announced it will filter out offending websites ‘as soon as possible' in Indonesia.
RIM's move is in response to an Indonesian minister's threat to shut down internet browsing via BlackBerry in the region and according to the firm, it is the first time RIM will use internet filtering in any region, The WSJ reported.
It is believed that the company will meet with the Indonesian government on 17 January to work out the action and a spokesman for the Information Ministry reportedly said: "RIM has been engaged with its carrier partners and the government on this matter and continues to make it a top priority to implement satisfactory technical solutions with its partners as soon as possible."
Analysts reportedly reckon around 2m people use BlackBerrys in Indonesia.
The Indonesian government flexed its muscles last year, telling ISPs in the country to block porn sites. Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring has also previously put pressure on RIM to set up a server on Indonesian soil to let the government monitor data.
The Indonesian government is not the only one to kick up a fuss about the location of servers and data access to BlackBerry messages.
Reuters reported that RIM wants up to two years to sort out India's security concerns about BlackBerry corporate emails.
RIM has apparently denied bowing to pressure to give India's authority access to data sent through BlackBerry's Enterprise Server and reportedly said in a statement that such an action is "false and technologically infeasible".
However, the company has reportedly said that its relationship with the Indian government is solid despite it threatening to shut down BlackBerry Messenger and corporate email services unless it lets authorities peek at data.
India has previously said its demands are based on security fears. RIM dodged a ban last year after allegedly negotiating a temporary arrangement for legal interception of BlackBerry Messenger services and the promise of a lasting solution this month.
