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INDONESIA/FILE: BlackBerry maker to implement tighter controls, block access to porn sites, following pressure from Indonesian government

Record ID: 751397

Metadata Frames

Title: INDONESIA/FILE: BlackBerry maker to implement tighter controls, block access to porn sites, following pressure from Indonesian government
Date: 13th January 2011
Summary: OFFICE EMPLOYEES STANDING AT STAIRS OF BUILDING ENTRANCE TWO FEMALE EMPLOYEES USING BLACKBERRY VARIOUS OF FEMALE EMPLOYEES USING BLACKBERRY PANDE PUTI YUNIARTI, AN EMPLOYEE USING BLACKBERRY (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Indonesia) BLACKBERRY USER, PANDE PUTI YUNIARTI, SAYING: "From my opinion, I would prefer if the government require after-sales service and if RIM's servers are also kept in Indonesia. Regarding the problem of content, in my opinion, if you shut it, people still can open these content using other forms of access, so I think there is no problem." YUNIARTI AND HER FRIEND, LIS ADIANTI USING BLACKBERRY (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Indonesia) BLACKBERRY USER, LIS ADIANTI, SAYING: "If indeed there are indications that these negative things will affect the younger generation, especially pornography, I think as a parent I strongly agree that the site associated with pornography and its related sites be blocked." JAKARTA, INDONESIA (JANUARY 11, 2011) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF INDONESIA COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION MINISTRY OFFICE INDONESIA'S COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON GATOT S DEWA BROTO ENTERING HIS OFFICE BROTO'S HAND ON LAPTOP (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Indonesia) INDONESIA'S COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON, GATOT S DEWA BROTO, SAYING: "Indonesian government's request is that we want them (RIM) to build data centers and servers, build a business entity in Jakarta and one of the most urgent mater is to ask for their cooperation in filtering pornographic content." BROTO'S HAND (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Indonesia) INDONESIA'S COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON, GATOT S DEWA BROTO, SAYING: "So this is not only to filter, filtering is only part of a bigger purpose, what we want is to ensure protection for law enforcement purposes." BROTO IN HIS OFFICE
Embargoed: 28th January 2011 12:00
Keywords:
Location: Indonesia
Country: Indonesia
Topics: Communications,Domestic Politics
Reuters ID: LVAATUZBXAD6DXZRR926DG786D4R
Story Text: Research In Motion said on Monday (January 10) it will filter pornographic Internet content for its BlackBerry smartphone users in Indonesia, following government pressure to restrict access to porn sites or face its browsing service being shut down.
The Canadian company has been buffeted by demands for access to its encrypted data from numerous countries worried about security and social mores, including India, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
It has struck a defiant tone on its business-level services, used by millions of corporate and government workers to ensure privacy of mobile communications, but reached deals on consumer services such as BlackBerry Messenger.
RIM "is fully committed to working with Indonesia's carriers to put in place a prompt, compliant filtering solution for BlackBerry subscribers in Indonesia as soon as possible," it said in a statement. The Waterloo, Ontario-based could not be reached for further comment.
The Blackberry wireless device is popular in Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 17,000 islands, as it allows users to access the Internet, conduct online chats, write emails and other cyberspace activities in a country that has a low internet presence.
Indonesia has about two million BlackBerry users.
"From my opinion, I would prefer if the government require after-sales service and if RIM's servers are also kept in Indonesia. Regarding the problem of content, in my opinion, if you shut it, people still can open these content using other forms of access, so I think there is no problem," Pande Puti Yuniarti, a blackberry user said to Reuters.
"If indeed there are indications that these negative things will affect the younger generation, especially pornography, I think as a parent I strongly agree that the site associated with pornography and its related sites be blocked," said Lis Adianti, another blackberry user.
Indonesia's Communications and Information Ministry has called for tighter Internet controls and wants RIM to block access to porn sites to comply with an anti-pornography law in the world's most populous Muslim country.
"Indonesian government's request is that we want them (RIM) to build data centers and servers, build a business entity in Jakarta and one of the most urgent matter is to ask for their cooperation in filtering pornographic content," said the ministry's spokesman, Gatot S. Dewa Broto.
"So this is not only to filter, filtering is only part of a bigger purpose, what we want is to ensure protection for law enforcement purposes," he added.
RIM says the location of its servers makes no difference to the ability to decrypt the data flow on its devices.
BlackBerry's reputation is built on its system security and a compromise under pressure from governments could damage the device's popularity with business professionals and politicians.
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.
Copyright Holder: REUTERS
Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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