It is always interesting to watch the light and dark sides of our communications technology and laws do battle. Social networks and speed-of-light communication capabilities are incredible tools for revolutionary activity and organizing actions with large groups of people scattered around a country (or the world) with an ease protestors of generations past would have given anything to possess. But…what helps one side ultimately winds up helping the other side, too. So while technology like Blackberry can bring about amazing things for the side of good, they can just as easily be manipulated to assist the tyrannical forces of darkness.
Although Twitter and Facebook have played a key role in the recent London riots, police believe that for the first time there, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) was the main and favored organizational tool. Why? Unlike text messaging or Twitter, BBM is a free, private social network where almost all messages are encrypted when they leave the sender’s phone–meaning that many messages are untraceable by the authorities.
What’s the Big Idea?
BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM), which has said it would co-operate with a police investigation, can be legally ordered to hand police details of users suspected of unlawful activity. However, the Canadian company would be likely to resist those demands and the content of users’ inflammatory messages would be encrypted. The manufacturer has previously insisted that even it cannot unscramble users’ messages when sent on the devices.
via Why London Rioters Preferred BlackBerry | IdeaFeed | Big Think.
Here is a related story from SCMagazine about Blackberry’s blog being hacked in retaliation for cooperating with law enforcement -
The official BlackBerry blog has been defaced after its parent RIM said it would co-operate fully with the Home Office and police force following the London riots.
In a blog post, BlackBerry said that it had ‘engaged with the authorities to assist in any way we can‘ and was working to comply with The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act and was co-operating fully with the Home Office and UK police forces.
The blog post, which at the time of writing is still live on the BlackBerry website, now features a response from ‘TeaMp0isoN’ who said that RIM ‘will not assist the UK police because if you do, innocent members of the public who were at the wrong place at the wrong time and owned a BlackBerry will get charged for no reason at all’. Continue Reading…
Related articles
- Why London Rioters Preferred BlackBerry (bigthink.com)
- VIDEO: BlackBerrys used by rioters on streets (bbc.co.uk)
- London riots: BlackBerry workers threatened (telegraph.co.uk)
- Why Has BlackBerry Been Blamed for the London Riots? (wired.com)
Better that the gov’t cannot snoop.
Of course these riots wouldn’t have led to so much destruction if Parliament had not molested the Magna Carta and stripped the people of their arms. A few shotgun blasts and a few dead looters would have kept this from getting so out of hand.
Fascinating blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A theme like yours with a few simple tweeks would really make my blog shine. Please let me know where you got your theme. Kudos
I agree that it is better gov’t cannot snoop on us. Imagine if your child were kidnapped and that same ‘snooping’ could lead officers to them? The technology cuts us both ways, in other words.
As owner of several firearms, I wholeheartedly agree about the right to defend oneself and one’s property. Notice lack of riots in states like Texas vs the frequent riots in non-gun friendly states like California.
Wonderful website you have here but I was wondering if you knew of any forums that cover the same topics discussed in this article? I’d really like to be a part of group where I can get feedback from other knowledgeable individuals that share the same interest. If you have any recommendations, please let me know. Appreciate it!
Oh goodness, I really don’t know of any to recommend anymore. Several that I participated in over the last few years were hosted on Ning; price increases have forced them to close down & I’ve not bothered searching for new playgrounds. You might possibly find some knowledgeable people with similar interest by doing a topic search on Newsvine. Sorry I can’t be of more help!