Research in Motion, makers of BlackBerry smartphones, began blocking access to pornographic websites in Indonesia last week to comply with government demands. A Jan 21st deadline was given to install filters on its network, if missed RIM may have faced losing its lucrative operating permit in Indonesia.
Indonesia is a major market for the Canadian RIM, with an estimated two million BlackBerry users.
Pornographic material is prohibited by law in Indonesia. Last year Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Tifatul Sembiring, had demanded all ISPs filter sites deemed inappropriate. The government has been increasingly concerned by the challenge of monitoring communications by mobile devices.
Sembiring grew particularly impatient with RIM, claiming to have “asked repeatedly” to filter their network. “If they keep delaying, we will shut down their operation here because they fail to comply with our laws,” said Sembiring. RIM’s lack action prompted the government to issue the Friday deadline.
RIM sent a statement to the Jakarta Post on Friday confirming it had started implementing a filtering system designed to block websites deemed inappropriate by the government.
“The technical solution meets the Communications and Information Technology Ministry’s stated requirements and is designed to utilize the same standard filter lists provided by the government to the industry in Indonesia.”
Sembiring used his Twitter account to express his satisfaction that RIM had complied with his demands, “Praise to God, RIM has complied with Indonesia’s laws and regulations. Pornography has begun to be blocked. Please go ahead with law-abiding businesses.”
Indonesians trying to access websites considered inappropriate on their BlackBerry now receive a message: “The site you are trying to open is not accessible through this network.”
RIM is the world’s fourth biggest smartphone platform. This marks the first time RIM has censored content accessed by its devices at the request of a government.
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