RIM allows Indian government to monitor Blackberry network

Well, it took longer than 15 days to reach a resolution, but apparently RIM is going to back down and allow the Indian government to monitor the Blackberry network in that country. What's worse, it appears that RIM was more interested in covering its own ass than protecting user data during the negotiations: the only concession the company received from the Indian government was a promise that it won't be held liable if there's a leak of users' personal information. Yeah, that ought to provide a sparkling incentive to keep things safe. There's no word on when monitoring might begin, but we've got a feeling privacy-loving Indians might suddenly be in the market for a new smartphone.

[Thanks, Rishab J.]

[helloUser @ May 22nd 2008 2:31PM]

Why am I not surprised that engadget thinks the first smartphone indians might be interested in would be an iPhone?

Sigh.

[Greg @ May 22nd 2008 2:39PM]

No kidding....Stop it with the fanboy shizzle. I am not going to parade my favorite computer brand...hell, they are all pretty much equally bad and good in some way.
The only real difference is that no MS fan is willing to take a bullet or give a kidney to Billy Gates/Balmer.

[OneLove @ May 22nd 2008 4:01PM]

Indian government gives Rim Job.

[nikster @ May 22nd 2008 7:24PM]

I wouldn't even have noticed, save for you pointing it out. The subtle link in the article was appropriate given that Blackberry is fighting an out-and-out war against the iPhone. Your comment just made a big deal out of it, and that was entirely unnecessary.

Are Engadget Apple fanboys? I. Really. Don't. Care.

What I am sick of is the endless whining in the comments. Post something funny instead, I would much more appreciate that. And in the spirit of that, I promise this is my last anti-whining comment. Ok?

[shanoboy @ May 23rd 2008 8:33AM]

On the bright side, if Indians did all start migrating to the IPhone and India wanted to spy on their networks but Steve Jobs basically said No WAY! I bet they would never get the permission to spy.

Love or hate Apple, everybody knows that Steve Jobs has got balls and doesn't let anyone, not even governments, push him or his company around.

[Esat Dedezade @ May 22nd 2008 2:31PM]

And people laugh at my tin foil hat.

In all seriousness, this is not good. I hope this doesn't spread to other countries.

[Flashpoint @ May 22nd 2008 2:43PM]

Yeah - last thing other countries need is tin foil hats.

[Jamma @ May 22nd 2008 2:44PM]

Well, here in the UK, the government could be monitoring all communications in the country.

which wouldn't work because terrorism transpired well before mobile phones and the internet (IRA- 1970's and 1980's) and it still can happen today without technology.

and, as Ben Franklin said: "He who will sacrifice liberty for temporary safety deserves neither liberty nor safety"

[7on @ May 22nd 2008 3:32PM]

Well UKers don't believe in Ben Franklin.

[R Nair @ May 22nd 2008 4:39PM]

When you have as many terrorist incidents as India does, then you have to do something about it. I guess the average Indian looks up to it as a good intervention. I don't care if someone reads some stupid chain mails that my friends love, as long as they can keep someone from blowing up!

[Brent @ May 22nd 2008 4:46PM]

Jamma

Except Franklin didn't say it. Not only that, he didn't say what he didn't say. What he said was "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety" and he was actually a guy you've never heard of named Richard Jackson. But nice try anyway.

Oh and for 7on, they ought to believe in Jackson though as he was a King's Counsel.

[01 @ May 22nd 2008 5:22PM]

You mean like a government (US?) putting a tap on all incoming/outgoing voice and data communications from a major Telecom (AT&T)? Yeah, that would be insane.

[siddharth s @ May 22nd 2008 7:53PM]

Are you folks - all of you - kidding me? Echelon network? Anyone?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON

This is NOTHING new, your FAX, voicecalls etc were monitored even way back in the 90s.

Wake up ...

[saunajunkie @ May 23rd 2008 3:16AM]

@Brent

1. If you wish your attributions towards our trivial knowledge to hold more respect and credibility, you should not be a prick about it. Having esoteric knowledge doesn't make you smarter or better than anyone else. The principal purpose for any kind of knowledge should be for the betterment of people, rather than put them down in the interest of your own ego.

2. Not to be a grammar nazi, but you should proofread your comments before you post them.

3. Perhaps you are accurate in your conjecture, but Bartlett's Familiar Quotes attributes this quotation to Franklin, so it isn't really pure ignorance that would make some one believe that he said it.

I know that this comment is off-topic and overly righteous, but there is no reason that courteous and accurate writing cannot be extended to the internet.

[T H @ May 22nd 2008 2:32PM]

"RIM".. *snicker*

[ReggieXuk @ May 22nd 2008 2:35PM]

lol, RIM

[Michael H. @ May 22nd 2008 5:16PM]

I've always wanted to work for RIM so I can tell everyone I got this great RIM job :D

[DWS @ May 22nd 2008 7:00PM]

I do for work for RIM and it never gets old. Seriously! ha ha ha ha ha

[MARSHAK @ May 22nd 2008 7:04PM]

there are posters up in every damn university in ontario looking for business and IT students who want to work for RIM........how much do they pay? lol

[Neebs @ May 22nd 2008 2:35PM]

And?

[Rob @ May 22nd 2008 2:36PM]

And, why is the Indian government interested in monitoring the Blackberry network? I can't think of a valid reason other than to control its population. Sad days we live in when this whole new world order is starting to materialized.

[Peter @ May 22nd 2008 2:58PM]

i think the indian government is trying to discourage indians to use foreign smart phones and use smart phones (or other phones) made in india by indians so that the indians will gain more wealth. in other word, the indian government is helping indian companies eliminating/reducing their competitors and discourage other foregin companies to enter the indian market so that indian products will become more popular and grow.

it might be complete bull but thats what i came up with.

[bigd7387 @ May 22nd 2008 2:38PM]

Ok not to be rude but don't people in India get paid in like pebbles or something and it would cost a normal Indian around Billion pebbles to buy a Blackberry and they make like 12 pebbles a year. So what theres like 3 people in India who will be able to puchase a Blackberry so India problably wants to know who the Hell the 3 people are who could afford the device and probably send them Spam Emails wanting donations.

[kjb434 @ May 22nd 2008 2:44PM]

Mildly amusing, but really it appears you have no clue about the current state of India.

A growing middle class that is extremely tech savy is a great explanation of why blackberries would be wanted.

[Mike @ May 22nd 2008 2:45PM]

Stay in school, you might learn something. Nah, nothing is getting
through your head.
And if you are going to insult someone, at least do it right. Make the red dot joke. I am Indian and I think it's freaking hilarious. Go to a comedy school or something.

[monster55 @ May 22nd 2008 3:02PM]

You will move to INdia and you will work for their asses when your country runs out of jobs. CHina and India will be the new economies, F--k--g racist

[Abhishek @ May 22nd 2008 3:03PM]

Lol...I'm Indian and I found that racist comment amusing!

Anywho, I don't even know whether this is a sad state of affairs, or a chest-thumping exercise by the current govt who wants to show a disinterested public that they are indeed taking steps to curb terrorism. So instead of doing the hard task of actually goin on the streets, they use these "behind the desk, white collar" methods as a way to curb terrorism.

Nonsense in my opinion. How many terrorists are actually using RIM phones anyway. Nokia rules in India. Always will!

[Boarderwoot @ May 22nd 2008 3:14PM]

The Pushstarts in India (there you go mike) know a helluv a lot about all this crap considering whenever I call for tech help on just about anything with an AC cord I get someone I can't understand 12 timezones away, though its true i dont know how much HP actually pays these people....outsourcing: the new American way.

[Common Cents @ May 22nd 2008 4:55PM]

In case anyone was keeping score, bigd7387 didn't make any references to race or peoples attributes in particular.

[bigd7387 @ May 22nd 2008 5:18PM]

Most people are not as smart as they want to boast here on this site. I am not making a racist comment on the people of India. What I'm trying to state is that "whatever currency India uses and no disrespect to the middle class" but MS introduced the 360 to India and it was stated that people could purchase the 360 on a payment plan since a 360 would cost the average Indian a 1/2 years salary. Which would bring to mind the fact that the Middle Class is actually a minority and the real workers of Indian are really not going to be affected by "Big Brother" snoping on their Blackberry's since most of the population would have a difficult time being able to afford such an expensive item. I would think that most of you who can read would be able to understand a post that was trying to understand why the average Indian would care about "Big Brother" when it appears that most are more interested in supporting their familes and buying groceries. And yeah India may have a great middle class but reading the reports from the country seems to suggest that India is still a very poor country and companies are not paying what would be considered outstanding wages for the outsourcing population.

[siddharth s @ May 22nd 2008 8:05PM]

Dude ... when was the last time you visited the country?? I went there last year and it was expensive to party there. *one* drink was $22 (USD) and the club (in Bombay) was crowded with tons of folks drinking. And this wasn't a 5 star hotel's club!

The scene looked very similar to a decade back, but I was a QUITE knocked out by the prices. Seems money flows rather easily ...

[Nonedone @ May 23rd 2008 6:56AM]

India has the most advanced cellular phone market in the world. Nokia, Sony E, Motorola, RIM, etc release most of their models in India earlier and more freely than in America. It's rooted in the fact that no Indian GSM service is tied to a cellphone.

I can go to a store, literally buy ANY GSM based cellphone I want, and then go to a number of telecom providers and use a prepaid or postpaid service. I personally have 4 friends all of whom have Blackberrys. Spending 300$ for JUST a cellphone may seem exorbitant to you Americans, but in India, Rs.12,000 (The equivalent of 300$) is actually NOT expensive- it's expected.

You can buy a cellphone WITHOUT a plan tied in for as low as Rs.1600 (40$) to as high as Rs.30,000 (750$). Heck, the Indian middle class is LARGER than the entire population of the United States.

[TRAFFICBLOWS @ May 23rd 2008 9:01AM]

One drink $22???

How would I go about exporting PBR? Hmmm... may have to Release the Beast on India, too!

[rock99rock @ May 23rd 2008 1:23PM]

Or better yet, lay some underground pipe (thats what she said) and pum some natty light over thar!

[jattipnjbdi @ May 24th 2008 10:54PM]

well,
ppl in india get paid rupees
and no they dont make 3 "pebbles" in a year
and mr. smary pants
u may b surprised to find out that mostly all of the companies in the USA (surprise surprise) are operated from india
and most likely more ppl in india own a black berry than america
and no i am from india i am livening in america and also own a blackberry
and did u know that there is a machine in america that also spies on ppl's fone calls and stuff
wow
i learned that in 8th grade

[iEye @ May 22nd 2008 2:40PM]

Who cares...All the customer service is outsourced there anyway... They have access to all that stuff if they wanted...

iPhone FTW!

perhaps people in those types of places should shop having children? Too many people are being born today... that was there will be no population to contol!

[Christian Walters @ May 22nd 2008 2:58PM]

wrongo there mate, Africa is where they need to stop having children...OH NO HE DIDNT!!! Yes, yes I did.

[T H @ May 22nd 2008 9:43PM]

Honestly, wherever YOU'RE from is where they need to stop having children FIRST.

[Greg @ May 22nd 2008 2:40PM]

hee hee, you got third! wow, now you can blog about it on myspace or call your friends on your hello kitty phone.

[Jamma @ May 22nd 2008 2:45PM]

God I hate these comments. come the revolution.....

[ReggieXuk @ May 22nd 2008 2:48PM]

Big Brother, who AOL?


[crowd] oooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhh [/crowd]

[Wonderkid @ May 22nd 2008 2:58PM]

Wake up! These governments are NOT monitoring or concerned about terrorism (it's organised at street level), they are worried about and monitoring the middle classes who are becoming increasingly angry at the stupification and moral destruction of our society - in particular here in the UK. If you want a very very minor example of this slow but consistent dumbing down, notice that on the BBC News (UK) website (news.bbc.co.uk) the ONLY radio link (in the left magin) is to Radio 1. Easily the most intellectually devoid radio station available. No link to Radio 2, 3 or 4. We really are in deep deep trouble and hopefully someone out there has an idea as to what to do - for as long as any democratic paths remain open.

[Jason @ May 22nd 2008 3:08PM]

you guys only have 4 radio stations, and they're named 1, 2, 3, and 4?

[/joke]

[Abhishek @ May 22nd 2008 3:08PM]

I don't think this is a "Big brother" thing the way engadget is making it out to be.

It's kind of impossible to monitor the thoughts and predict the actions (even though indians are so damn predictable), of a billion or more ppl. Even if we look at just the middle class, which is burgeoning at 150 million, the phones which are really popular in India are nokia, SE, and other brands. RIM is not even a fashion mobile. It's strictly for business purposes, used to executives and businessmen.

As I said, this seems an exercise in futility, to appease a public, irritated at how little the govt. is doing to curb terrorism.

Just me $0.02.

[BigD145 @ May 22nd 2008 4:01PM]

Abhishek:
Yes, but you're forgetting that the gov't doesn't have to come up with a plausible tale. If they think you are a terrorist that MIGHT be planning something in the future, then you are and you get shipped to another country for torture... er, I mean questioning. Yeah, questioning.

"Sign this paper stating you killed Julius Caesar and we'll stop pouring water over your head."

[Kurian @ May 22nd 2008 3:01PM]

HAHA! Only idiots buy locked carrier phones in India. Unlocked users are safe. And the locked phones over here are total shit. Stupid black n white crap, or some shitty ancient blackberry model.

Unlocked phones are the only thing intelligent people buy.

[Christian Walters @ May 22nd 2008 3:08PM]

yeah..because ALL unlocked phones in the US are old Nokia, black and white screened candy bar phones....where the hell are you living? Canada? FWA-CHOW!!! 2, count em, 2 zingers in ONE post!! IM ON FIRE BABY!!

[blizz419 @ May 22nd 2008 3:12PM]

he's not in the US christian you moron learn to read, he's in India and his english comprehension is obviously leagues above yours idiot

[Darkroom @ May 22nd 2008 4:57PM]

@ Christian Walters

you do understand that Research In Motion is a Canadian company right?

[Kaiser-Machead @ May 22nd 2008 3:15PM]

Big Brother is watching me? Well, I hope Big Brother has a strong stomach. Some secrets are best left a mystery.