Skype summoned to court over refusal to share customer data - Telegraph
Skype has been ordered to appear in a Belgian court over its refusal to share customer data as part of a criminal investigation

Skype has been ordered to appear in court in Belgium over its refusal to hand over customer data as part of a criminal investigation.

Message and call data from the Microsoft-owned service has been requested by a court in Mechelen, north of Brussels, which states telecom operators within the country have to adhere to the demand.

"The judicial question is whether Skype is also a telecoms operator," a court spokesman said, according to Reuters.

Skype has argued it is not bound by the country's Telecom Act, which requires companies to hand over data to aid police in investigating criminal activities.

The service could face a fine and be forced to share the information.

In 2013 campaigners wrote an open letter to Microsoft urging the company to reveal the nature of the information Skype stores and to what extent governments attempt to access it.

Microsoft purchased Skype in a $8.4bn deal in May 2011.