Post date: Jan 17, 2011 4:53:36 PM
Research In Motion has agreed to the Indonesian government's request that it block access to pornography on its Blackberry smartphone.
JAKARTA, INDONESIA (JANUARY 17, 2011) REUTERS - Blackberry maker Research In Motion (RIM) said on Monday (January 17) that it will comply with the Indonesian government's request to block porn access to the three million Indonesian users of its smartphone.
"We are in fully committed to providing a solution and solutions that satisfy the needs and requirements of the Indonesian ministry and government as it relates to Blackberry's service here in Indonesia," said RIM Southeast Asia Managing Director Gregory Wade after meeting with Indonesian government officials in Jakarta.The meeting followed threats made last week by Indonesian Communication and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring to shut down browser access on BlackBerries if the firm did not block porn content.
At a parliamentary hearing on the matter Sembiring confirmed Blackberry had agreed to the block and reiterated a January 21 deadline for the Canadian company to make the changes.
"RIM agreed to comply with applicable laws and regulations in Indonesia," Sembiring told Reuters.
"January 21 is the time limit for blocking pornography sites because other operators have been closed already and only RIM has not it done yet," added Sembiring.
RIM also agreed to build a network aggregators in the Asia region and provide service centres, said Sembiring.
Some of Jakarta's Blackberry users backed the government's stance.
"Actually Blackberry is very beneficial for businesses and other things, but, if it were to close, a lot of people would lose out, and all because of porn. What a pity," said Steffi, a Blackberry user.
"Indonesia is one of the biggest users of Blackberry and I hope for the best result that porn sites will be blocked," said Envi, another Blackberry user.
RIM is wrestling with authorities in another booming mobile market, India, over access to encrypted email and other data. Last year, the company narrowly escaped a ban in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Indonesia is one of RIM's faster growing markets, with gross domestic product growth of about 6 percent and booming consumer demand in Southeast Asia's biggest economy.