The Foreign Service Journal, October 2010

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 9 BlackBerry Lands on Blacklists On Aug. 1, the United Arab Emi- rates announced its intention to block the data communication services on BlackBerry smartphones beginning Oct. 11, unless device maker Research in Motion addresses regulators’ con- cerns that the phone’s encryption sys- tem poses a security threat because it can be used by criminals and terrorists. Yousef al Otaiba, the country’s ambas- sador to the United States, said on Aug. 17 that he was optimistic an ac- ceptable solution would be worked out, but confirmed that the October deadline remains in place ( www.the national.ae/ ). In keeping with its reputation for being one of the most open societies in the Middle East, neighboring Bahrain quickly disassociated itself from any plans to follow Dubai’s lead. Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa acknowledged the legiti- macy of security concerns, but quoted the country’s crown prince, Sheik Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, as de- nouncing any attempt to halt the service as “ignorant, short-sighted and un- enforceable” ( www.thejakartaglobe. com/ ). Saudi Arabia’s telecom regulator initially ordered mobile operators across the kingdom to halt BlackBerry services on Aug. 13, but later gave RIM and the kingdom’s three wireless companies more time to implement a fix that will allow data monitoring ( www.guardian.co.uk/ ) . Going even further, India — the world’s second-largest market for smartphones — has threatened to block all corporate e-mail and messag- ing services unless Research InMotion and other companies agree to make data more easily available to New Delhi’s intelligence and law enforce- ment agencies by Aug. 31. Just before that deadline, the In- dian Ministry of Home Affairs agreed to delay a BlackBerry ban for at least two more months after RIM promised to give officials “lawful access” to en- crypted data. Meanwhile, sources re- port that the Indian government may next ask Google Inc. and Skype SA for greater access to encrypted informa- tion sent over their e-mail and phone services (http://cachef.ft.com/ ). Elsewhere, Indonesia wants RIM to place a server in its country because it fears that e-mails could be inter- C YBERNOTES Site of the Month: www.freecycle.org The old adage, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” gets a technological reboot on Freecycle.org. There you can search for groups near you and join for free. Members use Yahoo groups to post messages listing the items they want to give away. Though you won’t earn money from the transactions, you’ll help reduce waste and, in turn, receive messages about items you can get from others — all without paying a dime. Freecycle began in Arizona in 2003, when Deron Beal announced the formation of the Freecycle Network to family, friends and local nonprofit organizations. The or- ganization is “a grassroots, entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns.” The mission is “to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources and eases the bur- den on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community.” And the numbers indicate that Freecycle has succeeded; since its founding, it has spread to 85 countries, encompassing almost 5,000 groups and six million members. Yard-sale addicts and flea-market junkies will find Freecycle irresistible, but the site’s environmentally friendly, community-building message should also appeal to a wider audience. The next time you take a look in your attic and debate taking your old dining room table or bicycle to the dump, visit Freecycle instead, and help the or- ganization “keep good stuff out of landfills.” — Laura Caton, Editorial Intern