Why Has BlackBerry Been Blamed for the London Riots? | Hacker News Reader

Why Has BlackBerry Been Blamed for the London Riots?

wired.com

15 pointsevo_99 comments

This article is a great example of why I tend to not like Wired commentary on technology and its social impact.

  > Why Has BlackBerry Been Blamed for the London Riots?

Link-bait/troll headline? Check. [AFAICS nobody is "blaming" BlackBerry/RIM. All media outlets are merely reporting that BBM has been widely used to plan some of these riots.]

  > BlackBerry has been under pressure to respond.

Unfounded claims? Check. [Have they been "under pressure"? Not really, they've stepped up voluntarily to assist the authorities.]

  > Widespread calls to block BBM [...]

Hyperbolic extrapolation from useless data point? Check. [The link in the article within that text leads to a website with a single user-submitted post, with 2 (two!) comments - hardly widespread.]

Mandatory point out that story authors rarely write their headlines.

And with that done.

What was vaguely puzzling me were the references to blackberries in many stories, this article actually explains it. So the title actually does what it says on the tin even if it is a bit over-egged.

I didn't realise that BBMs are free, can be sent to all contacts and encrypted. I did already kind of know blackberries were popular with teenagers. Add those three facts together and it's suddenly obvious why blackberries keep getting mentioned.

I blame Blackberry on the current financial crises too. I hear those bankers and politicians are using BBMs to collaborate.

I bet those Congressmen were using Blackberry for Tweeting, too!

Because it's hard to explain the real causes: social inequality and racial segregation in the UK.

The article takes a surprisingly pro-police view, that it's good of RIM to cooperate with the police to help arrest its customers. Wired had a more pro-privacy view on electronic communication in the Cairo riots.

RIM have likely already complied with the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA):

What ought to be more concerning to the company than Wired's speculation is the blackmailed threats of bodily harm and property damage against their employees in the UK by TeaMp0isoN: http://www.zone-h.org/mirror/id/14614130

Because everyone needs a finger to point and a scapegoat to blame other than their own ignorance and apathy.