The French telecommunications regulator ARCEP has turned a critical eye on Microsoft's Skype and decided – more than a decade after the service was created – that it should register as a communications operator, reports The Register.
ARCEP believes the service is eluding “the duties and obligations” of a telecommunications operator, and according to Atlantico, has flicked the issue to the Public Prosecutor in Paris, explaining that under Article L. 36-10 of the Post and Electronic Communications law, refusal to register is likely to be a criminal offence.
In particular, ARCEP wants to require Skype to route emergency calls and implement lawful interception of calls.
According to the New York Times, it's not the first time the regulator has been asking Skype to declare itself a communications operator since April 2012, but the company has not acted. The NYT says Microsoft has responded to French authorities that it is “not a provider of electronic communication services under French law”.
Such a declaration would make Skype's French earnings subject to tax, but ARCEP denies that this is a factor in its demand.
Read more of this report from The Register.