Reuters - India rejects RIM corporate email solution: report
Reuters reports: "India's telecommunications ministry has rejected a solution offered by Research In Motion for its BlackBerry corporate email services, and it has not been able to access chats on the messenger service either, the Economic Times reported on Friday."

Comment: Hang tough, RIM, hang tough.

NYTimes.com - Critics Say India’s Surveillance Hurts Goal of Drawing Businesses
The New York Times reports: "Critics, though, say India’s campaign to monitor data transmission within its borders will hurt other important national goals: attracting global businesses and becoming a hub for technology innovation."

Comment: I really hope that RIM, Google and Skype just withdraw from India rather than trust them with the keys to their digital kingdom. Then again, the way things are going, they would have to withdraw from the U.S. market as well. Dark days indeed.

My Way News - Report: US would make Internet wiretaps easier
My Way News reports: "The Obama administration is pushing to make it easier for the government to tap into internet and e-mail communications. But the plan has already drawn condemnation from privacy groups and communications firms may be wary of its costs and scope."

NYTimes.com - U.S. Tries to Make It Easier to Wiretap the Internet
The New York Times reports: "Federal law enforcement and national security officials are preparing to seek sweeping new regulations for the Internet [...] officials want Congress to require all services that enable communications — including encrypted e-mail transmitters like BlackBerry, social networking Web sites like Facebook and software that allows direct 'peer to peer' messaging like Skype — to be technically capable of complying if served with a wiretap order. The mandate would include being able to intercept and unscramble encrypted messages."

Comment: So sad. What kind of example is this for the U.S. to set for the rest of the world? Is the U.S. to become the land of the formerly free? After all, many countries in the world will take the broken hardware and software that results from this and turn it again their own citizens. Sad that the U.S. action will result in more power for corrupt, oppressive, and totalitarian governments that violate human rights and persecute Christians. Don't believe me? Last I checked, RIM is still operating in Saudi Arabia.

Wired.com - Court OKs Warrantless Cell-Site Tracking
Wired reports: "A federal appeals court said Tuesday the government may obtain cell-site information that mobile phone carriers retain on their customers without a probable-cause warrant under the Fourth Amendment."

My Way News - NY lawsuit seeks to halt suspicionless searches
My Way News reports: "A New York lawsuit seeks to stop the government from snooping in the laptops, cell phones and cameras of international travelers when there is no probable cause [...] The lawsuit said more than 6,500 people have had their electronic devices searched as they crossed U.S. borders since October 2008. Nearly half of those searched were U.S. citizens."

WaPo - Contractors bullish on federal ID technology market
The Washington Post reports: "Timothy J. Quillin, an analyst with Little Rock-based investment bank Stephens, is bullish on the sector. He said identity solutions could be 'one of the areas where you might see increased spending,' even in an era of constrained spending. He cited the military and homeland security interest in biometrics and identification databases as the key driver."

My Way News - Dubai police chief calls BlackBerry a spy tool
My Way News reports: "Worries about spying by the U.S. and Israel spurred plans to sharply limit BlackBerry services in the United Arab Emirates [...] Dubai's police chief, Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim, said that fears of espionage and information sharing by foe Israel - as well as UAE allies United States and Britain - helped prompt the possible limits on the popular BlackBerry. Tamim told a conference on information technology that the proposed BlackBerry curbs are also 'meant to control false rumors and defamation of public figures due to the absence of surveillance,' according to a story posted Friday on the website of the UAE newspaper Al-Khaleej."

Comment: They blame the U.S. and Israel for their desire to spy on their own citizens? I'm losing all respect for RIM for caving in to all these repressive governments. And they have caved, we will never know the secret deals they have already made to stay in business.