BlackBerry ban in India

Email being accessed on a BlackBerry phone

I recently read a headline ‘India threatens to ban Blackberry email, messaging’. As I read the article I realized that the reason for the ban was that the government could not access BlackBerry users’ encrypted e-mails and instant messages. My first thought was, why would the government want to have access to people’s personal and private conversations.

My second thought was, is it right for the government to spy on legitimate and confidential communication? Citizens also have a right to privacy. Business users, for example, need some encryption, hence, the popularity of the BlackBerry within businesses.

The BlackBerry phones were to be banned in the hope to guard against abuse by criminals and terrorists. It was argued that terrorists could use Blackberry phone security features to communicate. This is understandable in that India has experienced terrorism in the past but my concern was whether the banning of the BlackBerry phone will really make a difference in stopping terrorism.