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Skype now censoring links

17 points by zwaly ↗ HN
I sent a friend a message in Skype while trying to get him hooked up with a porn star (one can dream) ;)

Skype removed the link on his side without any indication of doing so on my side. I

Here's the censored link (perhaps NSFW, but not pornographic either) http://www.niteflirt.com/listings/show/9553321-Celebrity-Adult-Starlet-Porn-Star-Tara-Lynn-Foxx

12 comments

[ 4.3 ms ] story [ 35.6 ms ] thread
greenyoda
Maybe they just have a spam filter. The words in that URL sound like they could have come right out of one of the e-mails in my spam folder. It's also possible that the domain itself has been associated with spam.
Cael
This is what one of my Skype contacts suggested too. To back it up further: the link works fine in group conversations.
anilr
But they're censoring dialog between two 'friends'. Email's a different beast since you don't need to whitelist the other party in order to receive communications.

I could see the argument if Skype thought the account had been hacked and was spewing out spam, but there is no reason for it to think that in this case.

Would you think this is okay if they did the same think on voice calls (when their auto-translation launches they could add this sort of censorship). Would it be okay for Skype to beep out words it thinks are spammy?

[dead] methodology
Having a spam filter for talking to someone you explicitly allowed to talk to you would be nonsensical. But hey, it's Microsoft.
[deleted]
(comment deleted)
[dead] methodology
Microsoft's MSN messenger also filtered links. One example I remember was that it would replace any link on mediafire.com with empty space (causing confusion in the conversation).
m_93
It looks like skype use domain ban. But what was reason of this is unknown. Curious is that another xxx pages is fully accessible via skype
atmosx
I don't think they are banning 'porn'. My guess is they are trying to protect users from malware.

That said, it is crystal clear that Skype is probably the most heavily monitored form of IM/video/audio communication along with (plain text) email and Apple's Facetime/iMessage[1].

[1] http://www.zdnet.com/apples-imessage-encryption-claims-refut...

jmspring
Out of curiosity, try running the same link through a URL shortener and send it again. A brief local test seemed to work.
m_93
This is workaround but the main problem is still present
anilr
What kills me is the lack of transparency here. If Skype replaced the message for all parties with something like:

"Hey bud, try this link: [Link deleted - this link breaks our terms of server]"

I could at least argue their case (although I still don't want someone to censor my communications with my friends). However, deleting the full message without warning the sender is absurd. What if along with the questionable link I wrote something important.

Mom's very ill. I spent an hour talking to this cutie to console myself: [link]