RIM to allow access to BlackBerry Messenger

After the Indian government gave Blackberry-maker Research in Motion (RIM) a deadline till August 31 to sort out the country's security concerns over the mobile device, RIM Vice President Robert E Crowe met Home Secretary G K Pillai in Delhi on Friday for half an hour and said he was "an optimistic guy", perhaps indicating that some solution would be worked out.

There were reports later in the evening that RIM would allow access to Blackberry Messenger.

Earlier in the day, the Indian government had said that monitoring of the data cannot be 'conditional' in response to a statement issued in Toronto by the company on Thursday which had said that RIM would allow Indian security agencies only legal monitoring.

India has asked the smartphone vendor to provide access to e-mail and messenger data or face ban.

"The only time it allows carriers to access the data sent via BlackBerry devices is in the case of national security situations, and even then, only as governed by the country's judicial oversight and rules of law," the Canada-based Research In Motion (RIM) said in a statement.

India has threatened to shut down BlackBerry e-mail and instant messaging services by August 31, unless RIM granted security agencies the technology to decrypt BlackBerry communications, citing national security concerns.

Although some experts have said that RIM's decision to only allow access to its data when ordered to do so by a judge might be problematic in certain countries where the judiciary is less than impartial, the company said that it maintains a "consistent global standard for lawful access requirements that does not include special deals for specific countries".

"Although RIM cannot disclose confidential regulatory discussions that take place with any government, RIM assures its customers that it genuinely tries to be as cooperative as possible with governments in the spirit of supporting legal and national security requirements, while also preserving the lawful needs of citizens and corporations," RIM said.

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