Eurojust modifies Skype position

A week ago Eurojust singled out Skype as one of the communication systems criminals use to frustrate law enforcement. Now, the judicial EU agency has backpedaled and says Skype has been playing nice with it all along.

Initially, Eurojust issued a statement that said "Skype's encryption system is a secret which the company refuses to share with the authorities" and cited a case where Milan law enforcement officials overheard a suspected cocaine smuggler telling one of his cohorts to switch to Skype to get the details of a 2 kilo drug delivery.

On Feb. 25, Eurojust turned around and said it had met with Italian judicial authorities in September 2006 and, "Representatives from the company Skype S.A. were invited and present at this meeting. There was a positive message from the Skype representatives during the meeting, showing their commitment to cooperate with the law enforcement authorities in the fight against serious, cross-border organized crime."

The new statement begs the question as to the type of cooperation Skype has provided to law enforcement agencies in the past, including the rumors of a Skype "back door." It also raises the question as to what sort of protest Skype might have filed with the agency to get a revised release issued.

For more:
- ZDNet UK posts [1].