BlackBerry jam

[Commentary] Research in Motion, creator of the BlackBerry, is between a rock and a hard place. With the U.S. market for its keypad-equipped smart phones dwindling after the rise of the iPhone, RIM's growth lies overseas. But as more people in other countries acquire its phones, demands of foreign governments for access to data to deal with security threats, and probably political threats as well, by monitoring the phones have also increased. RIM's position has reflected the need to straddle these divergent constituencies. The challenge is formidable in the face of a third factor -- the apparent lack of technological understanding that drives some governments to demand a "back-door key" to encrypted files, a technology that RIM itself does not possess, or to insist that RIM must locate servers inside their countries to make monitoring easier, a response that would have no effect on the ease of access to RIM's global system. We hope the steps RIM has already taken in India will allay official concerns. But RIM must stand its ground; giving in might cause it to lose customers while encouraging repressive regimes to monitor and intimidate peaceful dissenters.