Wednesday, 10 August 2011
BlackBerry messaging singled out in U.K. riots
Canada's most prominent technology company finds itself at the centre of the debate on how social media shapes riots and the response as violence and looting continues in the United Kingdom.Photograph by: Stelios Varias, REUTERS |
Research In Motion Ltd., headquartered in Waterloo, Ont., has become a target for those sympathetic to rioters and at least one politician, who wants a temporary ban on the BlackBerry Messenger system.
Reports indicate that RIM's instant messaging service has been used by looters and rioters to communicate and co-ordinate activities in London and other cities.
David Lammy, a British parliamentarian, has called on RIM to suspend BlackBerry Messenger service because he feels it is helping rioters organize and creating difficulties for police because such messages are encrypted.
RIM has said it will help authorities in Britain deal with rioters. The company did not respond to queries on whether it is open to temporarily shutting down its messaging service or helping police decipher messages.
Meanwhile, a group calling itself "Team Poison" hacked into RIM's official BlackBerry blog and posted a message threatening to divulge the addresses, names and phone numbers of RIM employees to the public and rioters if it gives British police access to things such as messages, user locations and customer information.
Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/BlackBerry+messaging+singled+riots/5230562/story.html#ixzz1UaNXcNoS
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