Skype, the well-known company for its internet communication services, has defended its actions regarding its partner in China, stating that they must comply with local laws concerning the monitoring of messages.
The company acknowledged that its partner in the mainland, Tom.com, has edited messages containing prohibited terms such as “Falun Gong” or “Dalai Lama.”
Skype is owned by eBay, and eBay’s CEO, Niklas Zennstrom, was quoted by the Financial Times saying, “Tom is filtering messages, which is something anyone in that market would do. It’s regulation.”
Skype is the latest technology company to come under scrutiny for complying with the Chinese government’s censorship requirements.
Companies like Google and Yahoo, along with Microsoft, have also faced criticism for filtering content on their platforms in China to appease authorities.
Yahoo was even criticized for providing information that helped authorities arrest two political dissidents.
Mr. Zennstrom stated that following Chinese laws is no different from adhering to regulations in the U.S. or Germany, which are two of the company’s significant markets.
“I may or may not like the business laws in the UK, Germany, or the U.S., but if I am doing business there, I have to comply with their laws. China is the same way.“
