Skype summoned to Belgian court over failure to share call data

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Online communication service Skype has been summoned to appear in court in Belgium after refusing to pass on customer data to aid a criminal investigation, a court spokesman said. A court in Mechelen, just north of Brussels, had asked for data from messages and calls exchanged on Microsoft-owned Skype, arguing that telecom operators in the country were required to do so. "The judicial question is whether Skype is also a telecoms operator," the court spokesman said, adding that Skype would have to pass on the data if this was established to be the case. It could also face a fine. Skype was not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; Editing by Philip Blenkinsop and Robin Pomeroy)