BlackBerry maker denies bias in dealing with governments

Washington: BlackBerry maker Research in Motion on Tuesday denied allegations it had offered some governments access to customers' data and not others, as it faced a ban in two Gulf States and India.

"RIM cooperates with all governments with a consistent standard and the same degree of respect," said the Canadian firm as the United Arab Emirates alleged it was denied data given to the US government.

The UAE, along with authorities in Saudi Arabia and India, have threatened to halt key BlackBerry services such a email and messenger because they cannot be policed.

Emirati authorities earlier said they were "asking for exactly the same regulatory compliance... that BlackBerry grants the US and other governments," according to Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE's ambassador to Washington.

RIM rejected that assertion: "Any claims that we provide, or have ever provided, something unique to the government of one country that we have not offered to the governments of all countries, are unfounded."

The firm did not say what, if any, data is handed over to governments, but said its security architecture precluded "RIM, or any third party, from reading encrypted information under any circumstances."