[liberationtech] Skype redux

[Christopher Soghoian]

Jake,

The section of Skype's privacy policy that describes (with no real detail)
the assistance they provide to law enforcement agencies is exactly the same
text that was present before Microsoft bought the company.

(See, for example:
http://web.archive.org/web/20100701074213/http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/legal/privacy/general/
)

I am just as skeptical of Skype's security as anyone else on this list.
This lack of trust pre-dates the purchase by Microsoft.

I've tried, and failed over the years to get any data at all about Skype
and law enforcement surveillance from the company.

I have better relationship with Microsoft, who are surprisingly open with
me when discussing privacy and surveillance issues relating to
hotmail/live/outlook and Bing. Unfortunately, I've not been able to learn
anything from my existing contacts at Microsoft about Skype. That part of
the company seems to be continuing their long practice of secrecy regarding
surveillance issues.

Regards,

Chris

On Fri, Dec 21, 2012 at 2:49 AM, Jacob Appelbaum <jacob at appelbaum.net>wrote:

> Hi,
>
> In light of the recent thread on journalism, I wanted to share this link
> about Skype:
>
>
>
> https://en.greatfire.org/blog/2012/dec/china-listening-skype-microsoft-assumes-you-approve
>
> "With 250 million monthly connected users, Skype is one of the most
> popular services for making phone calls as well as chatting over the
> Internet. If you have friends, family or business contacts abroad,
> chances are you are using Skype to keep in contact. Having said that,
> you are probably not aware that all your phone calls and text chats can
> be monitored by the censorship authorities in China. And if you are
> aware, chances are that you do not consent to such surveillence.
> Microsoft, however, assumes that you do consent, as expressed in their
> Privacy Policy:
>
> "Skype, Skype's local partner, or the operator or company facilitating
> your communication may provide personal data, communications content
> and/or traffic data to an appropriate judicial, law enforcement or
> government authority lawfully requesting such information. Skype will
> provide reasonable assistance and information to fulfill this request
> and you hereby consent to such disclosure.
>
> All the best,
> Jacob
> --
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>
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