BlackBerry helped spread riots in London
August 9th, 2011 - 7:43 pm ICT by IANS
London, Aug 9 (IANS) There were calls Tuesday to shut down the BlackBerry Messenger service which is thought to have helped mobilise looters in the riots here, a media report said.
Mike Butcher, a technology journalist and adviser to London Mayor Boris Johnson, said it was “unbelievable” that the BBM service had not been disabled.
Messages on the service, along with posts on Twitter, helped spread the locations of riots like wildfire and brought hordes of teenagers together to attack neighbourhoods throughout the weekend, Daily Mail reported.
Butcher described the BBM service as “text messaging with steroids”. Blackberry, however, denied reports it had planned to disable the service.
“Mobile phones have become weaponised in their capability of spreading information about where to target next.
“There is evidence that BBM is an encrypted, very secure, safe, fast, cheap, easy way for disaffected urban youths to spread messages for their next target,” the Mail quoted him as saying in the BBC Today programme Tuesday.
“It’s like text messaging with steroids - you can send messages to hundreds of people and once it’s gone from your phone it cannot be traced back to you,” he said.
BlackBerry UK said it will help the authorities with their investigation.
Young looters were accused of an opportunistic ‘Supermarket Sweep’ motivated by nothing other than greed. Dozens were filmed as they disappeared into the night with their arms laden with plasma TVs, laptops and sports clothes.
Many of those involved were rallied by calls spread through mobile phone messages and social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
Claims that rampant lawlessness was motivated by the death of Mark Duggan at the hands of police was quickly exposed as a lie, Mail said. Some of those involved in attacks on stores were barely old enough to be arrested.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Steve Kavanagh said those caught using Twitter, BlackBerry messaging and other sites to stir up violence could be prosecuted.
The BlackBerry smartphones offers a text message-style service which is instant, free and private where users can exchange updates with individuals or large groups.
Several countries, including the UAE and India, have complained that BlackBerry messages are too secure and may be used by terrorists.
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- Investors dump BlackBerry as iMessage seen major threat - Jun 08, 2011
- BlackBerry to provide India access to messenger services - Dec 04, 2010
- London rioters strip store shelves, target luxury brands - Aug 09, 2011
- India's death threat for the BlackBerry (Comment) - Aug 12, 2010
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- BlackBerry Messenger to be available on Android, Apple's iOS - Mar 05, 2011
- BlackBerry now touts Messenger to woo the young - Jul 20, 2010
- 'Blackberry thumb' is the latest health hazard - Mar 25, 2011
- Top British official to meet social networks over riots - Aug 26, 2011
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Tags: boris johnson, daily mail, deputy assistant commissioner, facebook, kavanagh, lawlessness, london london, london mayor, looters, mark duggan, mike butcher, mobile phone messages, plasma tvs, social networking sites, sports clothes, supermarket sweep, target, technology journalist, twitter, urban youths