RIM refute claims of a BlackBerry security u-turn
Research in Motion founder Mike Lazaridis has vowed not to buckle under pressure from Middle Eastern governments for the firm to provide access to its customers messages.
The resolute stance came as Saudi Arabia ordered local cellphone providers to halt BlackBerry service, allegedly because it failed to meet the country’s regulatory requirements.
This followed an announcement in the United Arab Emirates that BlackBerry email and text messaging services would be blocked from October.
Lazaridis has gone on record to state that he would not allow governments to snoop on messages carried on the network which utilises strong encryption processes for its communications data.
Analysts have questioned whether BlackBerry might differentiate between corporate and private customers, allowing access to the latter whilst permitting continued use of secure e-commerce and teleconferencing activities for businesses.
The statement came as the Canadian smartphone innovator unveiled its latest product, the Torch.