RIM CEO Angrily Halts Interview When Pressed On India

RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis indignantly broke off an interview with the BBC's Rory Cellan-Jones when asked a few questions about RIM's recent problems regarding security issues in India, where the country has asked for backdoor access to email and messaging networks.

The offending question is not exactly a doozy: "Can I move onto the problems you've had in terms of security, and there's arguments with the Indian government, and a number of governments in the Middle East, is that anywhere near being sorted out?"

The PR handler in the background immediately jumped in, as did Lazaridis, who insisted that "We have no security problems, we have the most secure platform," before going on to claim that RIM had "just been singled out" because they are "so successful around the world."

"It's an iconic product," Lazaridis goes on.

"It's used by business, it's used by leaders, it's used by celebrities, it's used by consumers, it's used by teenagers, I mean, we're just singled out, you know, just because of our success."

When pressed, he admits that they are "dealing with a lot of issues," before a renewed question into the specific issues in the regions in question sends him off.

"Alright, so, it's over, the interview's over," he said. "Please. You can't use that, Rory, that's just not fair. It's not fair. Sorry, it's not fair: we've dealt with. Come on, it's a national security issue, turn that off."

Then the camera turns off.

Watch the video here.

Comments

[Scott Evans]

01:45 PM on 04/15/2011

Apparently, the interviewer hit a raw nerve. Not to change the subject, but Lazaridis' resemblance to Rush Limpball is remarkable.

[MtnGeek]

12:58 PM on 04/15/2011

If it wasn't a problem you wouldn't have run out of the interview with your tail between your legs.

[Acebandg]

11:32 AM on 04/15/2011

hey pig
yeah you
hey pig piggy pig pig pig
all of my fears came true...

http://youtu.be/wn26LcQYqEE

[Dahveed1]

11:25 AM on 04/15/2011

So by not answering the question, he's made it front page news vs. middle of the paper. Who says there is no such thing as bad publicity...

[MtnGeek]

12:59 PM on 04/15/2011

Or, it's better to deal with these issues directly rather than letting the media frame the story for you.

[Dahveed1]

01:20 PM on 04/15/2011

He should have just stayed in the interview and blow those questions off the way EVERY politician does when asked a hard question.

[lj9283]

08:31 AM on 04/15/2011

So we have an issue that has been out on the table for RIM since last summer, and the CEO won't even make an attempt to speak to it?

That does not inspire confidence in RIM products.

Sort of like a commercial for Android.

[practicalnomad]

03:43 AM on 04/15/2011

So tense he could open a bottle of Pepsi with his butt cheeks! Seems suspicious to me.

[stripedbass7]

10:15 PM on 04/14/2011

Be a doofus & buy a gmc product, thats made in mexico. jeep, cadillacks etc.

[MtnGeek]

12:59 PM on 04/15/2011

Huh? What does that have to do with RIM smart phones?

[Matt Longpre]

05:03 PM on 04/14/2011

Well that's not suspicious.

[ScottV]

04:23 PM on 04/14/2011

MY GOD the man looks like Rush Limbaughs brother!

[MarsAmbassador]

12:37 PM on 04/14/2011

Okay, I have a Blackberry and the fact this man doesn't want to address the fact they're giving backdoor access to governments around to the world to MY emails and messaging, well, it doesn't inspire any confidence I have at ALL in the company or their products. I think I'll be doing some research to see what companies DO give backdoor access to everything. I'm sure they all do. Privacy is a joke, a long-dead relic of a forgotten age. Or so it would seem.

[joefoss]

12:24 PM on 04/14/2011

An interviewer asking a corporate CEO about sensitive matters?
=Of course, this could only happen on the BBC.
Can you imagine the sycophants at CNBC or Fox "Business" ever doing this?

[EngITeerChrisD]

12:05 PM on 04/14/2011

RIM is going the way of the Palm Pilot, they are so far behind iPhone and Android. Internet browsing on even a brand new BB is still slow. The space available to store applications from their App Store is very small and when that fills up the phone basically stops functioning. BBs are great for phone calls, emails, texting and BBM, and maybe your favorite 4-5 apps but that's about it. I had BBs for the past 4 years, making the switch to iPhone was the best thing i've ever done. I can run my whole business from it and can do so many things my BB would never be able to do.

[derekc06]

11:21 AM on 04/14/2011

This is why journalism is struggling. You have to be a lap dog in order to gain access.

[barnone72]

12:05 PM on 04/14/2011

exactly! real journalism where the hard pressing questions r posed has become an oddity.

[TulsaMikel]

12:35 PM on 04/14/2011

Agreed, what happened to the investigative journalist, they are a endangered species and need to be protected. hopefully they are still breeding.

[RealConservativeAmerican]

10:49 AM on 04/14/2011

Twist a pig's ear and hear him squeel!

[DevonTexas]

11:17 AM on 04/14/2011

perfect!

[Aroddo]

10:30 AM on 04/14/2011

of course he halted the interview. security is their main cash-cow. traffic is routed to their own servers and their network is encrypted and very secure, so if anyone wants to spy on people, they have to make a deal with RIM.

and now guess: Are deals are being made?