Skype under investigation in Luxembourg over link to NSA

Skype is being investigated by Luxembourg's data protection commissioner over concerns about its secret involvement with the US National Security Agency (NSA) spy program Prism.

In 2003, the calling service had a reputation as a tool for evading surveillance but now it is under scrutiny for covertly passing data to government agencies. The Microsoft-owned Internet chat company could potentially face criminal and administrative sanctions, including a ban on passing users' communications covertly to the US signals intelligence agency. Skype itself is headquartered in the European country, and could also be fined if an investigation concludes that the data sharing is found in violation of the country's data-protection laws. Luxembourg's data-protection commissioner initiated a probe into Skype's privacy policies following revelations in June about its ties to the NSA.