Oops! Microsoft Under Fire For Skype China Business and Chat Intercepts
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Alleging that Skype might be the subject of intercepts by both US and Chinese governments, the open letter requests clarifications and some transparency from Microsoft regarding its TOM Online joint-venture version of Skype, which is foisted upon all Chinese visitors to Skype.com who get persistently redirected to skype.tom.com instead, and thereby download a different version of the Skype PC app. In a further sign that Chinese authorities would rather its netizens avoid the international version of Skype, the Skype Android and iPhone apps are apparently banned from the China iTunes and Google Play stores.
Watching you Skype
It’s a tricky deputation for Microsoft to handle, as it risks Skype becoming shunned by journalists and activists around the world. Talking about the TOM Online partnership could also take Microsoft into controversial areas. Indeed, we’ve already seen TOM-Skype censoring Chinese users in the notorious case of sensitive keywords related to the 2008 unrest and riots in Tibet. Shortly after that, Canadian researchers told CNET:
TOM-Skype is censoring and logging text chat messages that contain specific, sensitive keywords and may be engaged in more targeted surveillance. What is clear is that TOM-Skype is engaging in extensive surveillance with seemingly little regard for the security and privacy of Skype users. This is in direct contradiction of Skype’s public statements regarding their policies in China.(Source: Techinasia)
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