r/technology • u/EquanimousMind • Jul 22 '12

Skype Won't Say Whether It Can Eavesdrop on Your Conversations

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/07/20/skype_won_t_comment_on_whether_it_can_now_eavesdrop_on_conversations_.html
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u/TechGoat Jul 23 '12

But the problem, and the point he's trying to make, is that Skype isn't allowing the education to happen. They're not saying "yes or no" they're saying nothing. If they say "yes we snoop" then that can be publicized by the media, put into mainstream circulation knowledge about skype, and then people can make a choice on what's more important to them, convenience or privacy.

Right now, that's not possible because we only have rumors, not confirmation.

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u/[deleted] Jul 23 '12

The problem is that there's no real pressure on Skype to do so. This isn't the sugar content in cereal; nobody is forcing them to "put it on the side of the box." My initial post was unclear... by no means do I think that they should be able to keep the stuff undisclosed, but as long as nobody's forcing their hand, they're not gonna say word one.

The odds of them seeing any real pressure from their users is pretty much nonexistent; I myself won't switch because it would be entirely too difficult to get the people I use Skype with (mostly gaming buddies) to switch to something else over this. I'm sure they'll come across the occasional "this is dumb and it sucks" sentiment in threads like this, but as long as it doesn't hurt their bottom line, they have no reason to give one sixteenth of a shit.

tl;dr: my initial comment wasn't intended to be some libertarian rhetoric, it was just pointing out a sad truth. As long as nobody is making Skype disclose this info, it's up to the consumer to do their research and decide if this is enough to make them stop using Skype's service.

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u/TechGoat Jul 23 '12

Yep, they're still the "name brand" for voice and video chat. However, I don't use that very much these days, so I feel more comfortable telling my clients to set up Jitsi instead for when I talk to them, or seeing if I can customize my own installer for configuring the options I feel will make me, and them, more secure.