Blackberry. Defender of personal freedom

I guess I’m a little disappointed that Research in Motion, aka RIM, makers of the Blackberry, compromised or gave in to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

There’s an old saying - “some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.” Well here was the chance for Research in Motion RIM - to have greatness thrust upon them as defender of our personal freedoms.

The United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia - both non-democratic, and some might say oppressive, monarchies intended to ban the Blackberry as of October, because their government’s security services could not monitor certain communications sent through a Blackberry. RIM had refused to give these governments the key to unlock its encryption technology… but ultimately agreed to a compromise position and exactly what that compromise is we may never truly know.

I have trouble believing that Blackberrys are a matter of national security. The US and UK, which have been attacked by terrorists in recent years, as well as other nations are also rightfully cautious, even paranoid, about “homeland security”, and to our knowledge they were not insisting on Blackberry giving them the keys to its encryption system.

So here was the chance for RIM to take a stand for personal freedom. And to turn this incident into a media blessing for RIM - whose share price has fallen 40% in the last year, largely due to competition from Apple iPhones and Google Android phones.

Instead, RIM did what is pragmatic because a substantial share of its users are in these various countries.

RIM, if you’re listening, you had the potential for greatness thrust upon you. You could have stood up and said you are in the business of assuring private, and we mean really private, communications, and you will not bow to fascist dictatorships. Imagine the publicity, the headlines, the advertising slogans... “Blackberry assures your privacy. Will Apple do that?” OR how about “Captain Blackberry Defender of the Free Word.” I would have liked that Captain Blackberry, superhero idea. I could have designed a costume for you! But no.

Now, apparently India and Indonesia are already wanting the same access to the RIM security systems. Instead of a superhero RIM, some may say you are a “collaborator” with the dark forces of EVIL.

Those are my thoughts. But I’d like to hear what you think about RIM’s compromise solution. Please write to me here at feedback@nakednews.com with the subject line “Blackberry”. I can’t wait to hear from you, my loyal minions. This could have been Captain Blackberry, signing off.