Skype singled out as threat to Russia's security

[anonymaus]

Russia's most powerful business lobby moved to clamp down on Skype and its peers this week, telling lawmakers that the Internet phone services are a threat to Russian businesses and to national security.

In partnership with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's political party, the lobby created a working group to draft legal safeguards against what they said were the risks of Skype and other Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone services.

VoIP software has used the Internet to let hundreds of millions of people talk long-distance for free, or at far cheaper rates than traditional service providers can offer.

At a meeting of the lobby this week, telecom executives portrayed the most popular VoIP programs like Skype and Icq as encroaching foreign entities that the government must control.

"Without government restrictions, IP telephony causes certain concerns about security," the lobby's press release said. "Most of the service operators working in Russia, such as Skype and Icq, are foreign. It is therefore necessary to protect the native companies in this sector and so forth."

Skype was not immediately available for comment.

In a presentation posted on the lobby's Web site, Vice President of TTK, a telecoms unit of state-owned Russian Railways, Vitaly Kotov, called on regulators to stop VoIP services from causing "a likely and uncontrolled fall in profits for the core telecom operators."

No words can express my complete lack of surprise.

[The Lawspeaker]

It must be because Skype was Estonian ? Other there can be no reason or...
Ah well- I won't try to understand the Russian mind. Not even a Russian can.

[Brännvin]

It must be because Skype was Estonian ?

Really? :P

Skype is a swedish/danish partnership, they used Estonia as location because of low taxes but its founders and most of the developers are from Sweden and Denmark.

Nicklas Zennström, the founder of Skype, is Swedish.

[Äike]

Really? :P

Skype is a swedish/danish partnership, they used Estonia as location because of low taxes but its founders and most of the developers are from Sweden and Denmark.

Nicklas Zennström, the founder of Skype, is Swedish.


Skype was written by Estonia-based developers Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu and Jaan Tallinn, who had also originally developed Kazaa.

:rolleyes:

[Brännvin]

Niklas Zennström (born 1966) is a Swedish entrepreneur.

In 2001 Zennström, along with Janus Friis, co-founded Kazaa Media Desktop (once capitalized as "KaZaA", but now usually written "Kazaa") the peer-to-peer file sharing application. In 2002, Zennström and Friis created Skype the peer-to-peer internet telephony network. He is also the co-founder (again with Friis) of Joost, an interactive software for distributing TV shows and other forms of video over the web set up in 2006 and Atomico, a venture capital company.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niklas_Zennström

[Vargtand]

:rolleyes:


Skype was written by Estonia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estonia)-based developers Ahti Heinla (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahti_Heinla), Priit Kasesalu and Jaan Tallinn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaan_Tallinn), who had also originally developed Kazaa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazaa).[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skype#cite_note-0) The Skype Group, founded by Swedish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden)-born entrepreneur (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrepreneur) Niklas Zennström (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niklas_Zennstr%C3%B6m) and the Dane Janus Friis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janus_Friis), has its headquarters in Luxembourg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg), with offices in London (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London), Tallinn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallinn), Tartu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartu), Stockholm (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm), Prague (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague),[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skype#cite_note-1) and San Jose, California (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Jose,_California).

[Brännvin]

From the Swedish version;

Skype är ett företag verksamt inom området internetbaserad kommunikation, främst IP-telefoni. Företaget grundades 2003 av svensken Niklas Zennström och dansken Janus Friis vilka tidigare var kända för fildelningsprogrammet Kazaa. I september 2005 köpte amerikanska Ebay upp Skype för minst 19 miljarder kronor - köpeskillingen kan beroende på företagets ekonomiska utveckling de kommande åren uppgå till 31 miljarder kronor [källa behövs]. Detta gjorde Niklas Zennström till en av Sveriges rikaste män.

http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skype

[Vargtand]

From the Swedish version;

Skype är ett företag verksamt inom området internetbaserad kommunikation, främst IP-telefoni. Företaget grundades 2003 av svensken Niklas Zennström och dansken Janus Friis vilka tidigare var kända för fildelningsprogrammet Kazaa. I september 2005 köpte amerikanska Ebay upp Skype för minst 19 miljarder kronor - köpeskillingen kan beroende på företagets ekonomiska utveckling de kommande åren uppgå till 31 miljarder kronor [källa behövs]. Detta gjorde Niklas Zennström till en av Sveriges rikaste män.

http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skype

I think you confuse the company with the software, the software seems to be developed by an Estonian, while the company was founded by a swede :P

[Äike]

Niklas Zennström (born 1966) is a Swedish entrepreneur.

In 2001 Zennström, along with Janus Friis, co-founded Kazaa Media Desktop (once capitalized as "KaZaA", but now usually written "Kazaa") the peer-to-peer file sharing application. In 2002, Zennström and Friis created Skype the peer-to-peer internet telephony network. He is also the co-founder (again with Friis) of Joost, an interactive software for distributing TV shows and other forms of video over the web set up in 2006 and Atomico, a venture capital company.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niklas_Zennström

He may be the founder of the company, but the program Skype was solely made by Estonians :wink

Skype was written by Estonia-based developers Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu and Jaan Tallinn, who had also originally developed Kazaa.[1] The Skype Group, founded by Swedish-born entrepreneur Niklas Zennström and the Dane Janus Friis, has its headquarters in Luxembourg, with offices in London, Tallinn, Tartu, Stockholm, Prague,[2] and San Jose, California.

It's surely a coincidence that Sweden has Skype offices only in Stockholm. While Estonia being smaller and with a way smaller population has 2 officies, 1 in Tallinn and 1 in Tartu. :rolleyes:

Now guess once why more offices are needed here. :D

[Äike]

Estonian inventions (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ross/4062313/)

Kazza and Skype included :)

[Brännvin]

So if the Estonians really invented that, sorry they were not very smart there, since that who was favored, it is Niklas Zennström that became billionaire selling the Skype to Ebay in October of 2007, not the brilliant Estonians :wink

[EWtt]

So if the Estonians really invented that, sorry they were not very smart there, since that who was favored, it is Niklas Zennström that became billionaire selling the Skype to Ebay in October of 2007, not the brilliant Estonians :wink

Well, at least they did become millionaires...

However, the majority of Skype stocks were owned by investment company Draper Fisher Jurvetson (one of their owners, Steve Jürvetson is an Estonian American).

[Brännvin]

Well, at least they did become millionaires...

Yes, you are correct they really stayed billionaire of the day for the night it meaning they were very smart and brilliant excuse me the expression ;)



However, the majority of Skype stocks were owned by investment company Draper Fisher Jurvetson (one of their owners, Steve Jürvetson is an Estonian American).

Really? Let me see if Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis sold it to Ebay in October of 2007 it means they were the owners of the patent before, do you know what is the meaning of this?

Here is a an interesting article written by the major magazine of global circulation, since it is not the Wikipedia that can be changed continuously, it has much more credibility do not you think?

I believe that TIME would not write lies about it, unfortunately the name Estonia and Estonians were not even mentioned on.

The Skype Guys

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1187489,00.html

[EWtt]

Yes, you are correct they really stayed billionaire of the day for the night it meaning they were very smart and brilliant excuse me the expression ;)

What are you on about?

Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis were behind the company and idea (not that Skype was the first VoIP software, nor KaZaa the first P2P sharing software) and often get all the credit, but four Estonians did create the software from scratch (except for a sound part made in Sweden, according to Jaan Tallinn) and made themselves millionaires as well. There is no denying that. Why is it such an issue to you?

[RoyBatty]

The only reason why there are moves against Skype in Russia is due to the telecoms companies losing revenue. Too many ppl making free calls. Therefore they want to derail the use of it in order to receive revenue.

[Motörhead Remember Me]

No words can express my complete lack of surprise.

Don't be surprised, Russia is NOT a democracy and does not subscribe to European values. Russia is a central Asian nightmare.

"In Soviet Russia, the state Skype's you".

[Svarog]

Don't be surprised, Russia is NOT a democracy

..and thanks dear Gods for that, for the moment, you sounded as it is a bad thing :thumb001:


and does not subscribe to European values.

which one of these:

1. homosexuality
2. tv slavery
3. gambling your family's future on the credit loans
4. decadence and multiculturalism
5. equality?


Russia is a central Asian nightmare.

Yes, Russia is a nightmare for the Central Asia :)


"In Soviet Russia, the state Skype's you".

This is just stupid :confused:

[RoyBatty]

..and thanks dear Gods for that, for the moment, you sounded as it is a bad thing :thumb001:



which one of these:

1. homosexuality
2. tv slavery
3. gambling your family's future on the credit loans
4. decadence and multiculturalism
5. equality?



Post of the week, LOL!!!! :D

[Svarog]

Post of the week, LOL!!!! :D

Spasiba Comrade :D

[Motörhead Remember Me]

..and thanks dear Gods for that, for the moment, you sounded as it is a bad thing :thumb001:

The Russian non European mentality displayed here by little brother Serbia. The finest proof that Russians and Serbs are successors of the Oriental tyranny.
I rest my case!:D




1. homosexuality
2. tv slavery
3. gambling your family's future on the credit loans
4. decadence and multiculturalism
5. equality?

That's Moscow in a nutshell, smartguy...

[Vulpix]

OT discussion split to here (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8990).