On July 11, a new icon, “E-Mail Settings”, magically appeared on my Blackberry. As it turns out, the icon is a launch pad for the Blackberry web browser with a shortcut to my web client settings page. When I spoke to a couple colleagues that evening, I found that their Blackberries had been also ‘infected’. We all had inherited this new home screen icon.
The concern that I have isn’t this particular application. I’m concerned about how the icon got onto my Blackberry without me knowing about it and authorizing it first.
The issue is a question of who has the right to control what software and applications get loaded onto a device, once it is in the hands of a consumer. When Microsoft issues a patch for our PC software, aren’t we first asked if we want to load it? Should our Blackberry devices be any different?
The initial response from the team at my service provider was that this was part of a service book upgrade that was necessary to keep my service running. I’m not convinced.
When there have been other service problems, I was told to download patches and load them myself. When I read the customer agreement, it seems to imply that the user is solely responsible for software upgrades:
The Customer’s System. Where Customer is purchasing Services which require additional equipment, software and/or services, Customer acknowledges and agrees that it shall be Customer’s sole responsibility to purchase, install, configure and maintain, at Customer’s cost, (i) all required equipment, software and services, including interconnections and network configurations (the “Customer’s System”) to enable Customer to purchase and receive the Services; and (ii) any additional equipment, software, services, enhancements or upgrades (“Upgrades”) that become available for use with the Services. [Service Provider] shall have no responsibility hereunder to correct or fix any problems or errors relating to or caused by the installation, configuration or modification of the Customer’s System or any components thereof.
What about loading spyware onto my device, to track my browsing habits. Or an audio recorder? Or any other software that might interfere with applications that I have purchased for my Blackberry? After all, the service provider is taking no responsibility hereunder to correct or fix any problems or errors.
What about the cost of the data stream? I notice from my monthly billing statement that I had very high usage on July 11 – was this due to the software that was unknowingly sent to my machine? For people who pay by the Kb, shouldn’t they get to manage their costs? If I happened to be travelling, who would have paid the roaming charges for the download?
My service provider referred the question to RIM, where it seems to have disappeared.
I will be pleased to post RIM’s reply, when it emerges. Who made the decision that it was OK to tamper with user devices without so much as an advisory? What process is used to determine that such an intrusion is justified? Where did users agree to have parties load software without a warning like ‘Click here to load an emergency patch’?
If service providers “shall have no responsibility hereunder to correct or fix any problems or errors relating to or caused by the installation, configuration or modification of the Customer’s System or any components thereof,” then don’t users have the right to refuse to have outsiders, including service providers, mess around with their devices in the first place?
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Blackberry, RIM