Law enforcers in the United Kingdom and elsewhere are coming to grips with a hard reality: modern communications technologies give activists of all kinds an easier way to organise and deploy.

But even as governments move to crack down, as Jeff Jarvis notes, activists are also learning a lesson – not just those whom we may support, such as the Egyptian revolutionaries, but also those whose deeds leave us cold or angry, such as many of the rioters and looters who've trashed so many parts of London and other British communities in recent days. In all cases, they are realising they cannot begin to trust the technology companies whose communications tools they used.

The law enforcement dilemma was highlighted by the protesters' use of BlackBerry mobile devices, which encrypt text communications. So the activists were able to organise on the fly with no immediate fear of being identified or having the messages decrypted in sufficient time for police to respond.

That led, inevitably, for calls on Research in Motion (RIM), maker of the BlackBerry, to help police investigations, including the unmasking of users. What RIM has touted as a brilliant feature of its service, the encryption capability, was to be turned against the customers – as so many of the technologies we routinely use can be turned against us by their makers.

RIM's motives in helping the police are understandable. It wants to be seen as a responsible corporate citizen, no doubt; but even more likely, it fears government sanctions if it doesn't cooperate.

read more