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Skype loses Belgian court appeal

By Reuters
Brussels, 16 Nov 2017

Microsoft's online communication service Skype lost an appeal in Belgium after it failed to comply with a court request to share data from messages and calls.

The case bears similarities to the privacy dispute between the US Justice Department and Microsoft over whether prosecutors should get access to e-mails stored on company servers overseas, which is now before the US Supreme Court.

The Belgian judge at the Antwerp-based appeals court had asked Skype to share data on a suspect in an organised crime investigation on the basis that telecoms operators in the country are subject to such a requirement.

Skype said it was not a telecoms operator and did not have the technical capability to comply with the request.

Wednesday's judgment, which confirmed the ruling of a lower court, said Skype was "indisputably" a telecoms operator and that references in Belgian law to "telecommunication" included "electronic communication".

The court also upheld the EUR30 000 ($36 000) fine and dismissed Skype's argument that Luxembourg, where Skype and its servers are based, could block such co-operation, as the data the court was looking for originated in Belgium.

A spokesman for Microsoft said the company was considering further legal options.

The European Commission, the EU executive, is looking into rules for sharing digital evidence across borders, with a legislative proposal expected early next year.

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