Pakistani Judicial Commission asks RIM for Messenger Logs

[The Green Bean]

http://tribune.com.pk/story/315407/...rensic-evidence-of-haqqani-ijaz-conversation/

I don't know where I stand on this one. The Pakistanis claim this is a case of national security and if proven guilty, the former Pakistani ambassador and even the president himself may be charged with high treason. India, UAE and Saudi Arabia have agreements with RIM which allows them to access messenger logs. I don't know the details of the agreement, but would India be allowed to access a log of a conversation that took place in the USA?

If this was a matter of American national security where would you stand? What are the legal obligations on RIM in this case? Would they have to provide data at the behest of the Canadian government? Would the Canadians not be obliged to help the Pakistani authorities in investigating this case?

If Blackberry were to be banned in Pakistan, how bad would it hurt RIM? They are already struggling and Pakistani is quite a large market with 120 million cell phone users. How would they see this in a purely business perspective. They have already granted some countries access, why not another?

 

[rchiu]

If you want to use 3rd party network/email/message services, you need to be aware of their disclosure policies. If you read Google Faqs, they clearly state that if government agencies ask for user emails, they will have to comply, but they will inform the user first.

Bottom line, it's all about the user agreement. If you need to disclose because of local law and regulation, you put it in your agreement. If your user agree, they sign and use your service, the if they don't you lose their business, but better than getting into trouble with the local law and lose the entire market.

There is no such thing as guaranteed user privacy when you use other people's network. they are just running business and they have to comply with local law. The key is whether they disclose what they will and will not do when they offer their service.

 

[Doppel]

In the US the president doesn't really have to abide by the law and/or will just make new ones, unfortunately.

If Blackberry were banned in Pakistan it wouldn't hurt RIM anymore than it's hurting itself. It's a dead company in the future, with many looking out for its deathwatch already.