January 11, 2011 | Online

RIM will block porn in Indonesia

Working with the Indonesian government and local carriers, Research in Motion (RIM) has promised to block porn sites for that country's Blackberry users. Last week, Indonesia’s communications and information technology minister Tifatul Sembiring said RIM would have two weeks to apply a new content filter or be shut down. 

"Research In Motion confirms that it shares minister Tifatul Sembiring's sense of urgency on this matter and it 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," the company said in the statement.

RIM has also been asked to create a center where, basically, e-mail and messages can be intercepted and reviewed 'legally.' 

RIM said that it "continues to make it a top priority to implement satisfactory technical solutions with its partners as soon as possible." 

Should it fail to deliver on the government's requests, the telecommunications ministry could demand that the six domestic telecommunications operators of BlackBerry's Internet services in Indonesia stop supporting it.

RIM, a Canadian company, needs to tread lightly here. With an estimated 1.5 million to 2 million RIM users in Indonesia, the company is hoping to protect its bottom line. But to actively work with a government to censor and snoop may give RIM a black eye it won't be able to shake.

RIM to Block Porn From Indonesian BlackBerrys [XBiz]