Communications giant Skype has received a court summons in Belgium after it refused to hand over customer data as part of a police investigation in the Mechelen, a town to the north of the capital Brussels.
Police lodged an official complaint with the Belgian judiciary after Skype, which is owned by Microsoft, refused to release data from calls and messages. Under Belgian law, telecommunications companies must comply with police orders to release data upon sanctioned request.
The court said that it would now be required to investigate the issue of whether Skype could be legally considered as a telecommunications operator.
Skype has insisted that it will fight to protect its customers’ data, and also hinted that the Belgian judiciary may not be the only body that can pass judgement in this matter. If calls and messages were sent internationally, data may also be protected by the law of another country.
Newspaper the Telegraph carried a quote from a Skype spokesperson, who said, “Law enforcement plays an important role in keeping communities safe but the legal process should also protect personal privacy, respect international borders and recognize technological differences."
Legal issues are currently dogging Skype in Europe, with a court ruling earlier this month that Skype’s logo and name are too similar to that of Sky, a satellite broadcasting service operated by the British Sky Broadcasting Group. The court ruling could mean that Skype may be required to pay Sky licensing fees in order to continue to operate in Europe.
A Microsoft spokesperson told media outlet The Verge, "We are confident no confusion exists between these brands and services and will appeal. This decision does not require Skype to alter product names in any way."
The news comes on top of recent media revelations that social networking giant Facebook appears to have phased out certain features that resulted from its once much-vaunted partnership with Skype. Facebook has developed its own video calling service as part of its Facebook Messenger application for Android and iPhone, in what analysts are calling a “serious blow” to the Facebook-Skype partnership.
There was better news for Skype in the form of a report from brokerage Credit Suisse, which this week revealed that Skype and other voice and video call applications could eventually cut a 50 percent hole in the telecommunications market in the years to come, as customers increasingly turn away from text messaging and regular non-Internet based telephone calls in favor of Skype and other, similar services such as WhatsApp.
By Timothy Daniel
