RIM strikes back on threats of BlackBerry bans

Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) is not pleased about the recent pressure it is facing in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, India and other countries. The governments of those countries want greater access to RIM's encrypted BlackBerry data, and have threatened to ban BlackBerry service if they can't get it. RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis, in a "fiery" interview with the Wall Street Journal, struck back: "This is about the Internet," he said. "Everything on the Internet is encrypted. This is not a BlackBerry-only issue. If they can't deal with the Internet, they should shut it off." RIM is still in confidential negotiations with the governments, and could reach compromises. Article (sub. req.)