Group: China censoring Internet activities

BEIJING, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- The Chinese government has been censoring messages on the Skype Internet service, a research group in Canada alleges.

Officials with the Citizen Lab research group have accused China of keeping a database full of politically sensitive words in order to have those controversial words blocked on the online messaging service, the BBC said Friday.

The researchers, who operate out of the University of Toronto, also have alleged that the database contains personal information about a number of the service's subscribers.

Skype President Josh Silverman, whose service operates in China in conjunction with the Chinese company TOM-Online, didn't deny the allegations.

"These regulations include the requirement to monitor and block instant messages containing certain words deemed offensive by the Chinese authorities," he told the BBC.

The British broadcaster said Silverman's joint venture, Tom-Skype, would follow in a growing line of companies that accept Chinese censorship efforts. Other Internet companies criticized for approving such measures include Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft.