RIM must set up data center in Indonesia: Tifatul

After demanding Canadian smartphone manufacturer and network operator Research in Motion (RIM) to filter pornographic content currently available through its BlackBerry handsets, the government has asked the company to set up a data center in Indonesia.

“Other telecommunication companies operating in Indonesia have already obeyed this rule. Why won’t RIM abide by it too? I think they should, and [it must be] completed soon. No delays,” Indonesian Information and Communication Minister Tifatul Sembiring said Monday as quoted by kompas.com.

With an RIM data center in Indonesia, law enforcers here could track down any lawbreakers using BlackBerry handsets, which could be particularly useful in corruption cases, Tifatul said.

The government will be firm in its stance, he said.

Tifatul said the establishment of a local data center was among seven terms of agreement set out between the Indonesian government and RIM in 2010.

Of the seven, so far RIM has posted official representatives in Indonesia, set up an RIM service center, used local resources and used local content.

Tifatul has also set a deadline for RIM to block access to pornographic sites using its handsets, which he says must be in place by Jan. 21.