Eurobites: Alcatel-Lucent Trials 400G in Czech Republic
Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Vodafone shareholders like the sound of a merger with Liberty; German spectrum auction imminent; TeliaSonera makes IoT investment.
— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

Ariella
5/27/2015 | 10:43:49 AM
Re: Skype
@mhhf1vwe Apple probably would claim it doesn't track its users, but that doesn't mean it doesn't.
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mhhf1ve
5/27/2015 | 10:39:18 AM
Re: Skype
Metadata is certainly revealing -- it's the reason why privacy wonks are up in arms about Ed Snowden's leaks. Does anyone know more about this specific case in Belgium? Is it a terrorist investigation or..?
mhhf1ve
5/27/2015 | 10:33:35 AM
Re: Skype
In the US, some telcos have "cooperated" by providing wiretapping data to govt agencies. And these telcos have been rewarded with legal immunity for doing so.
Skype might connect to a traditional phone call, but that doesn't make it a telco. Is Apple a telco -- it makes the phones that are used to make phone calls....
Ariella
5/27/2015 | 8:43:12 AM
Re: Skype
@mhhf1ve yes, but even that kind of data can be revealing in terms of who called whom when. That's the same info cell phone data typically provides.
Kruz
5/27/2015 | 3:14:48 AM
Skype
But what happens in the case when the company is based outside the country where access to data is requested? Should this be even allowed? Which country laws should be enforced if the call involved two parties residing in 2 different countries?
t.bogataj
5/27/2015 | 2:20:14 AM
Re: Skype
mhhf1ve: "they could only provide user account data, and not messages or wiretapping"The telcos are not required to gather messages/contents, but metadata (recall "data retention"), so this is not a point in question.
By providing "phone" calls, nothing makes Skype any different than traditional telcos in that respect -- so the regulation should be the same for all providers of similar services.
T.
mhhf1ve
5/26/2015 | 10:50:41 PM
Re: Skype
I think Skype is the only app being scrutinized because it's the only one (so far) involved in a criminal investigation....
mhhf1ve
5/26/2015 | 10:49:01 PM
Re: Skype
How is Skype even remotely a telco? They don't provide phone numbers nor any kind of underlying connectivity service. Is Google Hangouts a telco? Apple Facetime? I also thought that Skype encrypted their messages between client-servers... so even if they were forced to hand over customer info.. they could only provide user account data, and not messages or wiretapping.
Ariella
5/26/2015 | 4:27:25 PM
Re: Skype
Interesting question. I'm curious: what did Skype claim it was if not a telco?
Kruz
5/26/2015 | 1:56:51 PM
Skype
The question is then legit to all the voice calling IM. What is Viber?Whatsapp? Why is Skype the only one being scrutinized?
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