RIM Blocks Porn on BlackBerry Smartphones in Indonesia...

All hail to the Anti-Pornography King, TitS!

TitS (aka Tifatul Sembiring) has seemingly won the battle with RIM. RIM have not only agreed to block pornography from their BlackBerry Smartphones, but they have gone even further by simply adopting the filtering system developed by the Nawala Project.

This filtering system blocks out all content that is considered to be not only pornographic, but that content that is considered to be related to gambling, phishing / malware, and SARA (this is a term that relates to anything involving religion, ethnicity, race, or inter-group relations). The filter is very broad, which means that many Indonesians will not be able to access sites through their BlackBerry devices that are harmless.

It must be pointed out that the Nawala project is an Indonesia created open-source filtering service that has been in operation since 2009. It is the filtering service of choice for all of Indonesia's telecommunications providers, and it is the one that is being touted by the Ministry of Communication and Information.

The use of the Nawala Project filtering system by RIM is a cost-effective way of meeting the demands for a porn filter from the Minister for [Mis]Communication and [Mis]Information. It is cost effective because it is open-source and it is free. Although, it would seem that Irwin Day, Deputy Head of Public Relations at the Nawala Project, is contemplating that RIM might make some financial contribution to the ongoing development of the technology.

What's next? Well, the porn filter issue was really only a pre-cursor to a much larger battle in TitS' war against RIM. The Minister wants a server, or at least an aggregator, to be built in Indonesia. The rationale is a simple one; Indonesia is the biggest user of RIM BlackBerry devices in Southeast Asia and has earned the right to have the server / aggregator built in Indonesia. For Indonesian subscribers, the belief is that a server here will reduce BlackBerry tariffs. In contrast, the Minister wants the RIM server here because he believes that it will make it easier for his Ministry to track corruption and terrorism suspects and their communications.

If RIM stands true to form then it would be reasonable to expect them to fold on that demand as well. I wonder how long it will be before RIM and its Managing Director for this part of the world, Gregory Wade, are announcing their plans to build a server in Jakarta?

If TitS is giving all his praise to Allah for allowing him a victory in the filter battles, then one can only imagine how much beside himself he will be when RIM announces that it is building a server in Indonesia. It might just be enough to send him into the arms of Vicky Vette and another happy ending!

Then again, one day, and perhaps one day soon, TitS will realise that for all his small victories in battles on the war on porn that he is fighting a losing fight. Internet pornography will always be there as will those with an appetite for it and the desire to develop mechanisms to access it. The porn industry is very much like Medusa's head in that for every snake you cut off, another one grows back in its place (I am sure someone is going to want to argue the point about severing Medusa's head altogether, right?).

TitS: Kena Deh...

A recent viewpoint from the Economist "In Praise of a Twit" must be a high water mark in Indonesian history for a serving minister of the Indonesian government. But, when one thinks about it, it is a wonder that it has taken this long for Tifatul Sembiring (aka TitS) to be recognised for his wonderful work. TitS is desperate to always be relevant and this is the driving force in his populist nationalist rhetoric invading the Twitter-sphere (the picture reflects his desire to his need to be relevant!)

TitS has a skill that many Indonesian politicians crave for but rarely achieve, the ability to unite liberals and conservatives alike. Sadly, this is not uniting them together but positioning them as diametrically opposed extremes on the pornography debate. There really seems to be little middle ground here as the debate has morphed into one of "you are either with us or you are against us".

There has been plenty of commentary about the TitS vs. RIM / BlackBerry shenanigans. One of the best pieces has been written by Treespotter. It is in Indonesian which makes it for an Indonesian-reading audience. However, many of the points have been made by him in the past in English and you will also find many of those points here.

It appears that TitS has had a bit of a victory. RIM the makers of the BlackBerry Smartphone have agreed to block porn on their devices for the Indonesian market. RIM will be up for considerable expense in reconfiguring their devices to comply with the TitS demand. However, it is worth noting that this has to be done in conjunction with the local providers of BlackBerry services. It will be interesting to see how much of the "cost" local providers are willing to bear in order to see compliance happen. Or is the expectation that RIM will cover all the costs?

Some would consider this victory one for censorship and perhaps point out that this reflects the growing power of more conservative Islamic political forces. To be honest, I am not sure that the arguments here are being made on purely religious or political grounds. Anyways, a Google search using the terms BlackBerry, Islam, and Censorship turned up this image (no offense intended so hopefully none is taken).

Once again, RIM should have just stood its ground and said "No". If TitS had of pushed through with his ban he would have only ensured his legacy as a good source of comedic material for comedians around the world, including the likes of Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, David Letterman, Jay Leno and the like in the US. I am sure there are comedians in Europe who are also "taking the piss". But, even more so, all of the politicians and other high-ranking public officials would have begun jumping up and down demanding that TitS pull his head in and do something worthwhile with his time as it is becoming increasingly obvious that the man is getting blinded by the sunshine that he thinks is shining out of his arse.

The reality is that even if RIM blocks porn to its BlackBerry devices there is going to be a negligible effect on overall supply of pornography to the Indonesian consumer. Let's face it, people can still go down to Block M or over to Glodok and buy pirated local and foreign pornographic DVDs until their collective hearts are content or stop beating because of the shock of the sudden release of all that sexual tension. The truly sad thing is that TitS still does not get that a national internet filter is not ever going to happen until such time as their is only one government controlled entry point to the Indonesian marketplace.

Probably more worrisome than RIM's capitulation on the porn filters is that TitS is touting that RIM has also agreed to allow the Indonesian government to intercept messages and other communications on BlackBerry devices. There is no need for BlackBerry to make any such concessions to TitS. The reality is that if there was a lawful reason for an interception to occur then a warrant issued by a legitimate court would see RIM comply. Besides, there is little doubt that Indonesia has agencies both public and spook-like that would already  have the capabilities to intercept communications without the communicator knowing about it so there really is no need or reason for the Minister of [Mis]Communication and [Mis]Information to have this power as well.

There will be a time in the future, perhaps it is now, that Indonesians when they think of TitS will collectively sigh and say in a most colloquial of ways "kena deh!"

Nationalism vs. RIM and BlackBerry...

There is one thing that Tifatul Sembiring (aka TitS) is good for; material for blogposts! The Minister for [Mis]Communication and [Mis]Information has decided that he will appeal to Indonesians sense of nationalism. The thrust of the TitS argument is now one that says "if you are a good Indonesian, and a nationalist one to boot, then you must agree with him on all things RIM and BlackBerry related". Maybe TitS should think about getting some t-shirts made up for his followers to wear in support of his nationalism drive.

The porn issues aside, this whole TitS crusade is about getting RIM to agree to set up servers, database centres and, at least, repeaters in Indonesia. The Minister is convinced that this will allow Indonesian authorities to monitor what its 2 million or so BlackBerry users are doing and saying with their Smartphones. The official line is that this is about helping Indonesia in its fight against corruption, an honourable cause for sure. However, the reality is that this is more about spying and eavesdropping on Indonesian citizens , it is really about the heavy-hand of big brother residing in the shadows and dark abysses of the Internet, it is about control of the populace, it is a cynical attempt to allow government to invade individuals private and personal space.

I was being somewhat flippant yesterday when suggesting that nationalisation might be on the agenda. Nevertheless, the rhetoric seems to suggest that any RIM facility that opens in Indonesia must allow for a majority of Indonesian content, must employ Indonesians, and although not explicitly stated yet, some degree of Indonesian ownership of the local subsidiary. Perhaps, then, the nationalisation of the local subsidiary would not be such a far-fetched proposition.

But, I digress...

What I am wondering is whether the minister has any statistics to support the assertion that BlackBerry Smartphones are primarily used for surfing the Internet for pornography as opposed to their primary design function of facilitating the ability to do business easily?

I have never owned a BlackBerry, and unless RIM was to contact me and offer to give me one for free to review, then I am unlikely to ever own one. But, even those that do not own BlackBerry phones should be alarmed at the Minister's moves against RIM. The simple truth here is that this is just the first step. If TitS is allowed to run roughshod over BlackBerry users then it is only a matter of time before he sets his sights on other Smartphones.

Ho hum...

Telkomsel and Excelcomindo Get on Board the TitS Bandwagon...

In a victory for ignorance and stupidity, Telkomsel and Excelcomindo have decided to jump on board the TitS Express to "Insanityville". TitS has been waging a "War Against Porn". The main thrust of his current strategy is to shut down access to any site or material that he determines is offensive and undermines the morals of the Republic of Indonesia. So, Research In Motion (RIM), the makers of BlackBerry Smartphones, is now in his sites.

The Minister for [Mis]Information and [Mis]Communication (photo caption: "nah, I am right-handed and I start like this!") has decided that RIM has two weeks to shut down access to all pornographic sites. Here is my confusion as I sit down typing away while looking at my new mobile phone. I am wondering who is responsible for blocking porn content on my phone if Australia ever gets to the point that Indonesia is at now with TitS? My phone is a HTC and my service is provided by Telstra's Next G network. So, is HTC responsible for blocking porn content that may be accessed through my mobile phone or is that the responsibility of my service provider Telstra?

I would have figured that Telstra would have had to have been the responsible party in this instance. So, if that is the science of the matter then why is TitS so adamant in his pursuit of RIM and their BlackBerry Smartphones? I am no techno wizard, so feel free to jump in and comment.

I wonder if the real issue is not one of nationalisation through creative and novel interpretation of the prevailing laws and regulations, specifically the Pornography and ITE Laws.

I am sure I will get back to TitS and his RIM obsession in the future. Although, the mind boggles, where to from here Mr TitS, porn for the sight-challenged (blind in less politically correct terminology)?

BlackBerry, Blocking Porn, and a Threat from TitS...

Tifatul Sembiring (TitS) has a problem with porn. He does not like it. He wants the porn industry shutdown in Indonesia and he wants to make sure the heathens and infidels in other lands who are the purveyors of porn and hell-bent on the destruction of the Indonesian way of life, can no longer see their objectionable content available to the Indonesian masses who crave it.

According to TitS, his one-man campaign to eradicate porn from Indonesia has successfully seen an 80% reduction in the amount of porn available in Indonesia. Anyways, before hitting the 100% mark TitS has turned his attention to Research In Motion (RIM) the makers of the BlackBerry Smartphone.

TitS has two problems with RIM both are separate yet seemingly related. The first is that TitS wants RIM to set up a server and database in Indonesia. Currently, Indonesians using RIM Smartphones are routed through servers in Canada. The rationale for this first demand is that it will be easier for Indonesia to intercept the encrypted traffic that goes through the local servers than it would be for them in comparison to data going through a Canadian or other off-shore server.

The second issue that TitS has is that RIM has been dragging the chain on agreeing to set up their Smartphones to block pornographic content. The legal basis for the TitS claim is Articles 18 and 19 of the Pornography Law (No. 44 of 2008).

These are clearly two separate issues. Yet, they are linked that a local database and server may make it easier for the heavy-hand of big brother (aka the Indonesian Government) to track (legally intercept?) sex-starved, hot and sweaty, Indonesian consumers of world-wide porn.

Returning to the first issue. RIM heeds to establish a database center and server in Indonesia in order to comply with the prevailing laws and regulations that govern operations in this sector. RIM have been stalling on fulfilling the obligations that the Indonesian government believes RIM has. The latest excuse for avoiding TitS was that it was a public holiday in Canada and therefore they could not attend meetings in Indonesia on a  Canadian Public Holiday. For TitS, this is not good enough and not a legitimate excuse.

If I am not mistaken, the last time I checked the Indonesian Consulate here in Maroubra closed for all the official Indonesian public holidays and all the Australian ones as well. TitS, that is just not good enough, is it?

Anyways, the Minister for [Mis]Communication and [Mis]Information has threatened to shut RIM down in Indonesia if it does not comply in two weeks to, presumably, either demand. How seriously RIM takes this matter might be proportional to how much they value the Indonesian market. Indonesian BlackBerry users account for more than 7% of the total number of BlackBerry users world-wide.

On the blocking of porn. I am no tech wizard and my knowledge is pretty limited. However, I have always been led to believe that "where there is a will, there is a way". In essence, if Indonesians want to access porn then they will always be able to do so. It may require a little more effort and a lot more knowledge to avail one's self of the intricate network of proxy servers that are able to bypass any and all attempts to prohibit access.

If this is true, then irrespective of how one feels about the legitimacy and intent of the efforts of TitS, it would seem that the man is fighting a losing battle. Maybe it is time that TitS took up the long-standing offer of Vicky Vette to burn off some of his pent up frustrations.

Ho hum...

Blog Statistics...

I had been using this thing called "Statcounter" to see how many people were dropping by The RAB Experience. It also showed what people were looking for. I still use this program because the basic model is free. I guess, if blogging was a more serious commercial venture for me then I might consider upgrading to a more comprehensive deal that tells me more "stuff".

However, because I have opted to use Blogspot as my blogging platform I can access a basic array of statistics through the blog itself. In a similar vein to statcounter, it tells me all manner of things as well, including who is coming to The RAB Experience and what they are searching for.

It is one of those searches that prompts this post.

While I was checking out who was looking at what I came across this (the screen capture is courtesy of Picnik):

I cannot read the Arabic, but the English search terms are pretty clear "japan porn stars". I am wondering whether the Arabic is indicative of the search originating in an Arabic speaking country using Arabic language servers? If so, then why don't they filter for objectionable content? In the sense that terms like porn stars would filter out suspect sites? Just to be clear, I do not consider The RAB Experience to contain any objectionable content. All the content is appropriate for the topics being discussed and to illuminate points within the relevant discussions :)

I only ask because Indonesia under the stewardship of Susilo Bambang "Mr. Tolerance" Yudhoyono and Tifatul "No Porn" Sembiring there has been a definite lurching towards the 'need' to ban all things porn-related by filtering objectionable content. I am sure The RAB Experience is safe (I will start to wonder if my good mate, Harry, from Multibrand ceases to comment, assuming that he is not commenting because he cannot access my humble internet abode).

To avoid any confusion. Arabic is the language of the Al Qu'ran, and Sura of the Al Qu'ran are often cited as stating unequivocally of the evilness of porn and the damage that it can wreak. The assumption that I make in this post is that the Arabic is indicative of the search taking place, or at least through a server, in a country where Islam is practiced.

Ho hum...

Indonesian Porn Reporters -- Rewarded

There is nothing quite like getting the public involved in your own personal porn crusade. The Minister for Communication and Information, Tifatul Sembiring (aka TitS), has decided that the best way of ratcheting up his porn eradication scheme is to enlist the public and to reward them for their participation as social media experts.

The scheme seems simple enough; the public report to the Ministry any porn site that they know of and receive a reward from the Ministry. Any prospective reward hunters can contact the Ministry of (+62 21) 3899-7800 or at aduankonten@depkominfo.go.id. But you can only call between 09.00 and 14.00.

Nah, this is where it gets a little problematic by my reckoning. The Ministry has not exactly said how it plans to reward the porn finders, specifically it has not said whether this is a cash-based incentive scheme or perhaps something a little more sinister, like jail time.

When it is all said and done, how do you report a pornographic internet site if you have not had a sneak peak to check out whether the content is actually pornographic or not. I can see a lot of emails starting off "Well, a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of mine told me about www.xxx. blah, blah, blah dot com."

I am not in Indonesia, so I cannot rightly say, but according to TitS, but Indonesia has supposedly blocked 90% of the internet pornographic sites that were once available to Indonesians. Nevertheless, I am sure some of my Indonesian based commenters might be able to enlighten us on the true state of play. But, to be honest, if 90% of internet porn sights are already cactus with respect to access from Indonesia, then the reporting role of the public really is nothing more than tidying up a few loose ends to get it up to 100%.

Personally, I think TitS is kidding himself on the block rates, but hey to each their own.

Oh Dear, Mr. Sembiring Are You Serious?

It is a real shame that this man's name is not Titaful instead of Tifatul. This is particularly so considering the Minister of Communication and Information's fascination with banning pornography in Indonesia. But, never mind Indonesians regularly shorten their names, so from now on Mr. Tifatul Sembiring has the moniker "Tits", which is fair enough as all the letters are in his name and appear in that order...

Now, Tits has declared that he is a man on a mission, presumably from God, to ensure that all porn sites originating in Indonesia are shut down and all porn sites hosted overseas are blocked by Indonesian filtering technology before reaching screens in Indonesia. The plan calls for all these sites to be history before the start of the holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan as many of us are all to aware is a month where Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and other earthly pleasures during daylight hours.

While most people are thinking that the porn ban that Tits has in mind will only effect images, and that this is not such a bad thing, they are sadly mistaken. If Tits gets his way, then even sentences will be classified and if deemed to be too rude then they will be labelled porn and prohibited. Yes folks, Indonesia is back on the path to burning books and treating its adult population like naughty children who do not know what's best for themselves. Tits is looking at getting this banning and burning thing done on a "massive" scale. It reminds me of a picture I once saw about social media 'experts'. I attach it for your viewing pleasure.

Personally, to each their own on the porn front. I have no problem with making porn more difficult to access, especially the idea of making it as difficult as possible for children to access. I have no problem with prohibiting kiddie porn. Our children need protection from this sort of material, whether that be protection in the form of ensuring they do not become the subjects of child porn or being prevented from seeing what is already out there. However, I cannot see why the government needs to regulate whether two consenting adults enjoy looking at pictures of each other in the nude.

In any event, if Tits is thinking that he is going to be successful in protecting people from themselves then he is going to be in for a rude awakening. The blanket ban, which "massive" suggests will not work. The idea that it will presupposes that purveyors of pornography are stupid and technologically incapable of adapting. This is clearly not the case.

The porn industry is not one that is about just tens of thousands of dollars, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, nor millions of dollars. The porn industry is a multi-billion dollar gig. The reality is that where there is a will there is a way...it is the chicken and the egg theory, or perhaps it is even simple supply and demand theory. People want porn, so other people produce it. Indonesians want porn, so somebody somewhere is going to be producing it and Indonesians are going to work out a way to get access to it.

So, Tits it is time you focused your energies on other more important issues in your portfolio. Quite simply, the big red mark you have against your name with respect to your ministerial performance to date has nothing to do with your failures relating to porn. Time to stop trying to deflect attention from your shortcomings by playing the porn card. It is time to get on with doing your job.

Maybe, this poster is something the good minister might want to consider when working out how successful this plan of his might be.

Happy fasting to you Tits!

Porn Access to be Denied -- Indonesia...

Being one of your country's worst performing cabinet ministers in a cabinet that has supposedly been selected based on its professionalism and professional experience in the real world must be a kick in the teeth for a proud man. This is especially so when you get a fairly public rebuke from the president and his advisers. So, how does one turn it around in the world's most populous Muslim nation, play the porn card.

In a country that is in the grips of celebrity sex tape euphoria that is keeping the presses and gossip show running hot, it is little surprise that the Minister for Communication and Information, Tifatul Sembiring, has decided to publicly announce that Indonesia will be in essence porn site free within two months. Yes, purveyors and lovers of porn, your producing and viewing days are numbered now that the Minister has set the date.

The plan is to use a filter that blocks all international porn sites at the ISP level. In essence, there is a blacklist that ISPs are to maintain and use in order to filter out objectionable content. It is not entirely clear that Indonesia or the ISPs themselves have the technology in place to effectively enforce the ban, but time will tell. The plan for local porn content is to shut it down permanently.

A major concern is what constitutes pornography and how do sites end up on the blacklist, particularly the subjective nature of the listers could ensure that there might not be any, or sufficient, consideration given to whether the sites have educational value or otherwise. The decision will simply be based on whether the rude bits are showing or being spoken of, if they are then you are on the list.

The reality is that internet users are quite often as savvy, if not more savvy, than those tasked with enforcing the ban. For example, many sites will just migrate to different sites or use revolving addresses that make it difficult to consistently block them. Then, I am no expert, but there will surely be proxy servers and other mechanisms in place that allow for the filters to be bypassed.

I am not advocating pornography or access to it. However, to each their own. I am for putting in place mechanisms and technology that allows us to protect our children as much as possible. In most places these already exist in the form of parental controls and locks on computer systems. Yet, I am tech savvy enough to realise that when the time comes my son will probably be much more tech savvy than I, and consequently will be able to circumvent any controls his mum or I might try and put into place. Yet, we will still try.

The point I am trying to make here is that it is not a perfect world and laws to ban pornography across the board do not and will not work. The idea of banning all pornographic websites is also likely to be ineffective in the long term.

Truth be told, Tifatul Sembiring is a poorly performing Minister and he is seeking to deflect attention from his numerous and consistent failures by playing the porn card. I would say this is a high risk play on his part because he is unlikely to be the man who convinces Indonesians that porn is bad, porn is evil, and porn is against the law. He is likely to perform poorly on this one as well.

Censorship...

This is something I have seen around the traps a number of times. However, the most recent sighting of it has been over at my good friend the Treespotter's work-related blog, (you can find it here) and his blog is well worth a visit or ten.

Censorship is something that rears its ugly head every now and then in just about all countries.

Indonesia has had a recent bout with censorship relating to the screening of the film Balibo. This bout of censorship failed miserably as some organizations defied the ban. The ban has really been a bit of a non-event because pirated copies of the film are readily available in just about every roadside stall that sells disks.

Australia is also under the censorship gun as the government seeks to legislate internet filters that are supposedly designed to prevent certain types of nasty information and sites from every seeing the light of day in the land downunder. Unfortunately, those in the know have shown how silly this piece of legislation is as the filters are easily bypassed by using proxy servers that 10-year-olds can master. A bit fraudulent in that sense seeing the claim of the government is that this legislation and filters are needed to protect our children from the seedy side of the internet.

Oh well. Enjoy the picture!

Blogspot, Telkom, and the Indonesian Government

To be honest I am a little bored of having to use a proxy server as often, if not more often, as being able to directly access my blog through my ISP, Telkom Speedy. As some of my colleagues say, it would be nice to think that this was just a simple case of incompetence and overall bad service! However, there is only so much that one can tolerate before looking for better service, more consistent service, and value for money!

I did not start blogging for any real serious reasons but rather just for fun and to amuse myself! It seems that I have invariably started to amuse, annoy, or offend others into the bargain, which I find amusing in itself that anybody bothers to read the combination of silliness and seriousness that I put into cyber space from this locale. But, thanks though for continuing to stop by and comment.

Now, because I do have a small and dedicated readership (you know who you are), I am going to become a little more serious about the whole thing! I have registered a domain name, therabexperience.com, which is not up and running yet (I only registered like 10 minutes ago)! However, I will continue to post here in blogspot.com while access is available :D

More updates to follow when I have something to update of course!