Skype sentenced to €30,000 fine in Belgium

The criminal court of Mechelen has found communications provider Skype guilty of refusing to cooperate in a judicial case. Skype would not agree to supply the court with information on calls made between users because it is technically impossible, according to the company. It must now pay a fine of €30,000, reports De Morgen.

In September, 2012, Skype was asked to provide detailed information on the conversations between two users for use in a court case. The company partly cooperated by providing e-mail addresses, user history, account information and IP addresses.

Skype did not, however, give details about the content of the conversations, something that the company says is technically impossible during live conversations. It also claims that it is not subject to Belgian law, as the company is headquartered in Luxembourg.

The investigating judge in Mechelen nevertheless ruled that the company will be fined for providing insufficient information.