Chicago (IL) - Being the president of the United States, generally considered to be the title of the most powerful person on this planet, has many advantages, but downsides as well. And there is especially one you may not think of: Privacy concerns could mean that Obama will have to give up a critical piece of technology he apparently loves and most people rely on today: Email.

For years it seems that Barack Obama has been using his Blackberry smartphone like so many of us. But before he officially accepts his presidency, he is will likely have to sync his wireless session for one last time until 2012, at least. The problem: Email privacy concerns.

But not only are email security issues in question for Obama, but he also has to be in line with the Presidential Records Act that forces his correspondence to be placed on official record for review by the public, and also subjects anything he does to the threat of subpoenas. There has yet to be a decision made as to whether or not Obama will be the first emailing president, but his aides are guessing that it is not very likely.

Obama has been described as a tech-savvy president, mostly because of the extensive use of technology during his presidential campaign. And it appeared that he was taken steps to bring at least some of that technology with him into the White House. For example, Obama wants to have a laptop computer on his desk in the White House, and if this is achieved he would be the first American president to accomplish this feat.

It is reported that Obama has yet to send a goodbye message from his personal e-mail account- which has not changed in years- but those he communicates with say that the frequency in which they receive his messages has declined. In recent days, he has been photographed communicating via his Blackberry, which shows he is enjoying his last days with the device. However, we may be just another person whose life is simply tied to mobile email, as it is the case with millions of others. But there is no doubt that giving up this habit and communication path will be difficult.

Obama would be the second president to deal with this predicament. Three days prior to being inaugurated, George W. Bush forwarded a message to 42 friends and relatives that explained his situation. “Since I do not want my private conversations looked at by those out to embarrass, the only course of action is not to correspond in cyberspace,” President Bush wrote from his old address, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it “This saddens me. I have enjoyed conversing with each of you.”

Obama’s aids previously said that very seldom were briefing books and memorandums sent to the president-elect, as the information was simply forwarded to his Blackberry for his review. If a document was too lengthy to read from his handheld, he simply used his laptop. Obama has been known to utilize RSS Feeds to keep up with as much information in real time as possible, so no longer having access to these venues could prove to be an issue.  “Given how important it is for him to get unfiltered information from as many sources as possible, I can imagine he will miss that freedom,” Linda Douglass, a senior adviser who traveled with the campaign told the New York Times.

Obama may or may not be the first president to send e-mail from the oval office. We will have to wait until after his inauguration to find out.

Why can't he look at RSS feeds?

Nov 17, 2008 17:02     

I thought the concern was the interception of outgoing information that might be sensitive...how could browsing the internet to check-up on news be hazardous?
BDF report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

@BDF

Nov 17, 2008 17:29     

If he doesn't have a computer in the oval office, then no RSS during the day. Seems incredible that the person who needs the most info gets the least. One wonders who is really in charge of this nation.
Jim L report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -2

let Obama keep his blackberry

Nov 17, 2008 17:42     

technology exists that email can be transcribed. But its really stupid to restrict politicians like this, I heard there are some judges who won't use a laptop. Stupid... these are the same people making decisions that affect the use of technology. Such as net neutrality.
michelle report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

No wonder this country is in bad shape

Nov 17, 2008 17:43     

can you imagine running your household, let a lone an entire country, without access to a computer, the internet, and email?
hank report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -1

@ Jim L

Nov 17, 2008 18:35     

Him not being able to personally view RSS feeds from his laptop or phone/pda doesn't mean that he has the least of information, I'm sure that President Obama like all presidents before him, will be bombarded with information. He has his PDB's (Presidential Daily Briefs), and they cover quite a lot of information. Plus he can pay someone to tell him about current events as they happen anyway.
Suavey report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +4

Youre all missing the point

Nov 17, 2008 19:19     

Its not that he is not ALLOWED to use email. He probably just doesnt want to take the chance of leaving a paper trail..... Trust me - you want the records keeping act IN PLACE.
Think report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

NSA's Security Enhanced Linux via SIPRnet VPN

Nov 17, 2008 19:38     

A laptop loaded with the NSA's version of security enhanced linux would work fine on a secure VPN network. Caching the net access on a Squid box with a good IDS system and he would be isolated in both directions. Sounds kinds silly to me as secure communications are done by the military all the time, SIPRnet.
Duane M. Navarre report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -4

life without emails... not too difficult... there a...

Nov 17, 2008 19:50     

life without emails... not too difficult... there are other ways to communicate... wowz..
jae report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

@Suavey

Nov 17, 2008 20:12     

All of which I'm aware of ;) However, sometimes to make the right connections, you need some accidental information, not filtered. It's just too darned easy for people to steer your opinions if they also get to filter what you see.
Jim L report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

He should just use the "Cheney excuse" when it comes to logging emails

Nov 17, 2008 20:35     

"Sorry, we can't give them to you because we lost them"
Suspenders report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -1

@JimL

Nov 17, 2008 22:39     

@ JimL The president is not as powerful as people think. The senate has a lot more power then the president.
Name? report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

Backwards

Nov 17, 2008 22:39     

Even considering security concerns, email and rss feeds have proven such a benefit it's hard to condone giving them up. I would think that given the need to be progressive these days, they would work a little harder to mitigate security risks
Jer report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Times Change

Nov 18, 2008 10:47     

Times change and so should the way things are ran. It makes no sense to keep a President so locked up from everything when he needs to be kept in the know. I think we all know that a human hand involved in the process of providing knowledge and information always seems to mess up the facts. (to their advantage) I would prefer the Prez gets his knowledge and info at as raw of a form as possible.
JackCrackerMan report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Social Worker

Nov 18, 2008 17:57     

To President-Elect Obama: As far as I can see you have not put together an Administration (so far at least) that gives any indication of change for Americans or in Washington. I would think that a President who was serious about change would bring about new faces with new views and ideas for America. So far, you are duplicating much of the clinton administration and appointing the same old Washington insiders to cabinet positions. Is this your idea of change? The same old faces with the same old tired idealogy. I guess since you are now appointed it does not matter if you do not adhere to your promise of change. Instead of change wer are going back in time. I am glad I did not buy into your rhetoric and vote for you. Marlene Jargon

Marlene Jargon report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

hmmm

Nov 19, 2008 07:49     

I wouldn't want the President to get a computer virus of some hacker snooping through Presidential files but it seems to me they could set up a computer that doesn't have anything personal or governmental on it that Obama could strictly use for surfing the web.
Stew Pidd report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

OMG

Nov 19, 2008 15:18     

" This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it " Did our last president seriously surf the net on an AOL account. Wow, he definitely showed how tech savvy he was with that.
Spide|2 report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -2

www.justmypointofview.wordpress.com

Nov 19, 2008 21:07     

Wonder how President-elect Obama will deal with the unpleasant withdrawal symptoms from his CrackBerry addiction? Read a tongue-in-cheek fantasy letter to the President-elect on how to cope (from one addict to another) at http://www.justmypointofview.wordpress.com.
Sheryl report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Wha-a-a-t? No blackberry.... Then he will be an out...

Nov 23, 2008 23:54     

Wha-a-a-t? No blackberry.... Then he will be an out of touch President. No wonder why Bush could not get it. No-o-o-o America, let's not be backward. How old is the person who enacted the no email law, no blackberry law? I hope its not McCain.
Gigi report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -1