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AN IRISH COMPANY linked with text message-filtering technology used by the Syrian government has denied any involvement in Bashar Assad’s deadly crackdown on anti-regime protests.
In a statement to TheJournal.ie today, AdaptiveMobile said that it never had a relationship, provided services or engaged with the Syrian government or associated organisations.
The company provided private mobile phone operator MTN Syria with a text message spam and multimedia message anti-virus package in 2008.
Distancing itself from the controversy, the company advised that no upgrades or new releases have been provided to the product since 2008 and the support agreement expired in 2011.
Given the changing political situation in the region, AdaptiveMobile took the independent decision not to renew this contract.”
The statement was issued in light of a report by Bloomberg today which linked its software to the message filtering used by the Syrian government to stop the spread of dissent and to halt protest movements.
AdaptiveMobile said in the unattributed comments that it “does not condone the unlawful use or abuse of any software and/or technology and condemns any abuse of telecommunications networks to abridge human rights”.
It added that it has a clear strategy not to sell software to government bodies or intelligence ministries directly or through third parties.
Whilst AdaptiveMobile systems will process every SMS in order to block spam it is not designed to monitor individual communications or users and the Company has no evidence of it being used to do so, or being used in court proceedings.
A second Dublin-based company Cellusys was also linked to the blocking of certain text messages in Ben Elgin and Vernon Silver’s report.
The company has failed to return TheJournal.ie‘s calls but Bloomberg reported that its CEO Dawood Ghalaieny said that it cannot control how the system is used once it is in a country.
Sales of the software by Cellusys and AdaptiveMobile were completely legal. Stricter sanctions on interacting with the government in Syria and its agencies are now in place across the US and EU.
It is understood that Assad’s administration was able to block the opposition’s text messages by filtering out certain words, including “revolution” and “demonstration”.
Social media and mobile phone technologies were vital in the rise of the Arab Spring movements across the Middle East and North Africa throughout 2011.
Since protests began in March 2011, at least 5,400 people have died in Syria. At least 25,000 citizens have fled the country, while another 70,000 have been displaced within Syria.
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Cool article. The Brits are hilarious.
@Lisa Saputo: and they make your corps wait wks till burial . We just prefer a 3 day bender
Another tradition is one hundred years old this week, the tradition of Irish Republicans refusing to swear allegiance to the British queen and refusing to take their seats. Surely it’s time FG and FF put their money where their mouth is, run candidates in the north and take their seats in Westminster? Surely if they believe SF should take their seats then they would do the same? Surely they would win seats in the north after all they’ve done for Northern Nationalists? Surely!!
@European Bob: that tradition is not 100 years old. The tradition died out in 1921 when Ireland got its independence, but was started again in the 70s by a splinter faction of the Workers Party calling itself Sinn Fein.
@European Bob: calm down Shirley.
@European Bob: surely you can’t be serious?!
@Big Red: Actually the Workers Party came from Sinn Fein not the other way.
Sinn Fein split into Provisional and Official, the Officials became “Sinn Fein the workers party” then just “The workers Party” from which Democratic Left split, who then merged with (took over) Labour. I think The Workers Party is still around, but I believe that Thomas McGiolla was the last to be elected to any major position.
@European Bob: slight lack of understanding what a republic is, there Bob. A office holder of a republic cannot swear alligeance to any royal of any origin or to any other power that does not eminate for the people of that republic. FF, FG or anyone considering that would have to form an external party, taking note that any crossing of the party whip (over serving office holders) would be illegal and treasonous to that republic. I dont know, but I suspect it’s similar for the house of commons over there.
@Greg Blake: I’d imagine taking up the oath in the UK, would negate any right of SF MPs to direct or influence the voting of any SF TDs.
@Big Red: You might want to recheck your facts there. They are a little bit on the alternative side.
@Big Red: Note to Red, Ireland didn’t get its independence in 1921. 6 counties still occupied.
@European Bob: its a pity it can’t just become another British parliament tradition, where they symbolically deny sinn fein mps entry a few times, and then just let them take their seats…
@Big Red: partial independence
Maintaining all the fuss and feathers of empire is the root cause of the British sense of self importance.
@Kevin Barry: like wearing a shamrock to commemorate a 1,500 year dead kidnap victim Welsh “saint” who drove the non-existent snakes out of Ireland?
@Robin Pickering: you have us on that one. ;-), All countries have their quaint customs, it’s what makes the world interesting. As long as they are harmless, then let them at it.
@Greg Blake: true. Life would be boring if we were all the same.
A total bunch of clowns the lot of them
@Ciarān: word
@Ciarān: Why are they a bunch of clowns?
@jo mixon: Do i need to explain or have you not been following the news for the the last 2 years?!
I knew a village bycicle who loved the black rod
“Right honourable” means a member of the privy council. Nothing to do with ministerial office
@Dave Ringer: that’s correct. Jeffrey Donaldson from the DUP gets referred to as “the right honourable” just because he is on the queen’s privy council. He is not a minister.
I find this very offensive to Blacks & Rods
MPs are traditionally called ‘honourable’, or ‘hon’ for short. They aren’t referred to by name by other members, but by the constituency they represent. The Speaker calls them by name.
A ‘friend’ is an MP in the same party; referring to others, they are just a ‘member’.
‘Right hon’ means the member is a member of the Privy Council; the get the letters PC after their name.
‘Hon and learned’ means the member is a QC, the equivalent of a SC.
‘Hon and gallant’ means the member is a Sir, a knight.
have your say