From what we are reading it looks like RIM’s attempts to quiet down the whole ruckus in India are not working. Their offer to teach India how the internet works was shrugged off by industry groups since there already seems to be a forum for such things making a second one by RIM redundant. Some of the quotes captured by the AP for SkunkPost really go to show what RIM is dealing with.
The quotes below show that RIM has a serious problem in trying to deal with these governments. For some reason India thinks that RIM has already caved to other authorities and offered full access to BES emails. RIM either needs to set the record straight and say it is impossible or show them what they offer every other government and say India is no different.
Folks come in from Canada and the U.S. and Europe and they get stymied and act surprised that things are going the way they are,” he said. “They need to use local talent and intelligence and understanding of the nuances of the government and bureaucracy. Unfortunately, they rush in and say rationality should prevail. It doesn’t always do that here.
“These concerns have been addressed in other parts of the world, I see no reason why the Indian government and agencies should take any risk at all as far technology is concerned,” Sachin Pilot, minister of state for communications and information technology, told reporters in New Delhi.
“It need not have escalated to this level,” said Rajan Mathews, director general of the Cellular Operators Association of India. “Folks like RIM have to understand business is done differently here.”
RIM has long maintained that the government can access corporate e-mails by going through corporate e-mail servers, but Mathews said that process doesn’t afford the government enough secrecy.
“The government is saying we don’t want to be in a situation where we find out it’s XYZ corporation responsible for this, and then find out where XYZ corporation has its server, then get in touch with the enterprise. The secrecy of the event vanishes,” he said. “If they’re monitoring someone, they want to keep it confidential.”
Anirban Sen Not Registered
Posted: October 1, 2010 at 11:15 AM EST
Absolutely right!
The divide in India over Tech and Law/Policy is HUGE!
One would imagine NASSCOM would play a role in this; but it seems like they want to appease the government.