Over in China, the officially allowed Voice and Video over IP application that closely resembles Skype is… Tom-Skype. Although the fact that conversations are monitored (and in some cases actually blocked) was already well publicised, details have emerged regarding the storing of data related to the banned conversations.
OK, I realise that the image was created for a different sort of Skype issue, but it made me laugh when I was searching around for something suitable. Anyway, in much the same way that Yahoo has had to tow the line when it comes to operating in China, Skype have stated that for their services to be available, they have to assist the authorities to a far greater extent than they necessarily would in the ‘free’ world. Before you get too smug, head on over to this article for details on the German Police’s efforts to intercept in real time citizen’s text and voice Skype messages.