Source:
http://www.mobilemarketingnews.co.uk/Sk ... 14643.html

The recent news that the Chinese government is censoring text messages sent via Skype's services has led to the firm continuing to receive criticism.

Skype works by letting mobile phone users with Skype software on their handset tune in to the signal provided by the nearest Skype user to send cheap text messages or make free phone calls.

The popularity of the service could be dented by claims made by Canadian research company Citizen Lab which has reported finding a database containing thousands of politically sensitive words which had been blocked by China.

Citizen Lab has provided a list of words which have seemingly fallen foul of the Chinese authorities. These include "democracy", "Tibet" and phrases associated with the banned spiritual movement, Falun Gong.

The publically-available database also displayed personal data on subscribers.

Skype reacted quickly to the report by saying that it had always been open regarding the filtering of data by Chinese partners, but that it was concerned by breaches in the security of the site.

Company president Josh Silverman argued that China's monitoring was "common knowledge" and that their partner in the Chinese Skype venture, TOM Online, had "established procedures to meet local laws and regulations".

"These regulations include the requirement to monitor and block instant messages containing certain words deemed offensive by the Chinese authorities," Mr Silverman said.

Censorship has long been a fact of life in China. When the Rolling Stones were recently allowed to play some concerts in the country, their set-lists were controlled heavily. The band was banned from performing the innocuous Let's Spend the Night Together as well as the more offensive Some Girls.

British mobile phone provider 3 launched a Skype phone in November 2007, claiming that it was the first instance of a phone operator launching a mass market device that is designed to allow free calling over the internet from a mobile.

Initially, pay as you go customers had to top up their account with at least £10 each month to qualify for the free Skype-to-Skype calls.