Originally Posted by Cyrus Farivar
French regulators have said Skype could face prosecution for failing to register as an "electronic communications operator" with France's telecom regulator. The agency, known by its French acronym ARCEP, wrote in an English-language statement on Tuesday that "failure to comply with this obligation does, however, constitute a criminal offense."
Being an operator that provides telecom services to the public "also implies compliance with certain obligations, which include the routing of emergency calls and implementing the means required to perform legally ordered [wiretap] interceptions," according to ARCEP.
In its statement, ARCEP said it had requested that Skype go through this process "several times," and the company has apparently failed to comply.
Ars reached out to Microsoft (Skype's parent company), to current and former Skype employees, and to ARCEP but did not receive an immediate reply.
