UN official: BlackBerry should share users' data

LONDON

The chief of the U.N.'s telecommunications agency is urging BlackBerry's manufacturer to allow foreign law enforcement agencies access to its customers' data.

The International Telecommunication Union agency's Secretary-General Hamadoun Toure says governments fighting terrorism have the right to demand access to users' information from BlackBerry's maker, Research in Motion Ltd.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Toure says that "those are genuine requests" and that "there is a need for cooperation between governments and the private sector on security issues."

The standoff between RIM and foreign governments over access to customers' data has sunk the company's share price. RIM had no immediate comment Thursday.