[lg policy] Microsoft to ban 'offensive language'
Harold Schiffman
haroldfs at gmail.com
Tue Mar 27 14:12:37 UTC 2018
Microsoft to ban 'offensive language' from Skype, Xbox, Office and other
services Microsoft will ban 'offensive language' and 'inappropriate
content' from Skype, Xbox, Office and other services on May 1, claiming it
has the right to go through your private data to 'investigate.'
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[image: Microsoft to ban 'offensive language' from Skype, Xbox,
Office] Reuters/Pichi
Chuang
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Better watch out if you are playing Xbox, get ticked, and cuss. Microsoft
might ban you for the “offensive language.” If they do, then say bye-bye to
your Xbox Gold Membership and any Microsoft account balances.
Or if you and a significant other are getting hot and heavy via Skype, you
better watch your language and any nudity because that, too, can get you
banned. The ban hammer could also fall if Cortana is listening at the wrong
moment or if documents and files hosted on Microsoft services violate
Microsoft’s amended terms.
The changes are part of the new Microsoft Terms of Services agreement
<https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/servicesagreement/upcoming.aspx> that go
into effect on May 1 and cover a plethora of Microsoft services
<https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/servicesagreement/upcoming.aspx#serviceslist>
.
[ Learn how to protect personally identifiable information (PII) under GDPR
<https://www.csoonline.com/article/3215864/privacy/how-to-protect-personally-identifiable-information-pii-under-gdpr.html>.
| Get the latest from CSO by signing up for our newsletters
<http://www.csoonline.com/newsletters/signup.html#tk.cio_fsb>. ]
Civil rights activist and law student Jonathan Corbett took the time to
read the new terms and sounded the alarm
<https://professional-troublemaker.com/2018/03/25/microsoft-bans-offensive-language-from-skype/>
.
ADVERTISING
Microsoft provided a summary of the changes
<https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/servicesagreement/upcoming-updates.aspx>;
number 5 reads:
In the Code of Conduct section, we’ve clarified that use of offensive
language and fraudulent activity is prohibited. We’ve also clarified that
violation of the Code of Conduct through Xbox Services may result in
suspensions or bans from participation in Xbox Services, including
forfeiture of content licenses, Xbox Gold Membership time, and Microsoft
account balances associated with the account.
What qualifies as offensive language?
Offensive language is fairly vague. Offensive to whom? What my granny might
find offensive and what I might find offensive could be vastly different.
But how would Microsoft even know if you had truly been “offensive”? Well,
that part falls under Code of Conduct Enforcement, which states, “When
*investigating* alleged violations of these Terms, Microsoft reserves the
right to review Your Content in order to resolve the issue.”
Microsoft did add, “However, we cannot monitor the entire Services and make
no attempt to do so.”
I’m not sure that will make you feel better, as another portion states that
Microsoft “may also block delivery of a communication (like email, file
sharing or instant message) to or from the Services in an effort to enforce
these Terms or we may *remove or refuse to publish Your Content for any
reason*.”
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Corbett also pointed out a portion of text found in Microsoft’s new
agreement:
Don’t publicly display or use the Services to share inappropriate content
or material (involving, for example, nudity, bestiality, pornography,
offensive language, graphic violence, or criminal activity).
Corbett then wrote:
So wait a sec: I can’t use Skype to have an adult video call with my
girlfriend? I can’t use OneDrive to back up a document that says “f*ck” in
it? If I call someone a mean name in Xbox Live, not only will they cancel
my account, but also confiscate any funds I’ve deposited in my account?
(And are we no longer allowed to shoot people in Call of Duty? Animated
violence doesn’t really get any more “graphic” than this Microsoft-approved
video game offers.)
Are Microsoft’s ToS changes due to FOSTA/SESTA?
Some folks believe the changes in Microsoft’s terms may be related to
Congress passing the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA
<https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1865>), which was
combined with the Stop Enabling Sex-Trafficking Act (SESTA). FOSTA/SESTA
would hold platforms responsible for users’ speech, illegally shared
content, and anything that might be construed as trafficking. It has
been called
“the death of the open internet.”
<https://www.cato.org/blog/death-open-internet>
The Department of Justice warned
<https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4419494-Doj-Sesta.html> that the
bill “raises a serious constitutional concern,” as it “shall apply
regardless of whether the conduct alleged occurred [sic], or is alleged to
have occurred, before, on, or after such date of enactment.” In short,
since it applies retroactively, it applies to trafficking that took place
before the law passed — which the DoJ believes violates the Constitution’s
Ex Post Facto Clause.
When the Senate passed the bill, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
called
<https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/03/how-congress-censored-internet> it a
“dark day for the Internet” because it is “a bill that silences online
speech by forcing Internet platforms to censor their users.” FOSTA/SESTA is
“the worst of both worlds.” The EFF added, “When the Department of Justice
is the group urging Congress not to expand criminal law and Congress does
it anyway, something is very wrong.”
Already, Craigslist shuttered its “personals”
<https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/23/596460672/craigslist-shuts-down-personals-section-after-congress-passes-bill-on-traffickin>
section, and Reddit banned
<https://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/863xcj/new_addition_to_sitewide_rules_regarding_the_use/>
numerous subreddits
<https://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/8649ne/reddit_bans_using_reddit_as_a_marketplace_or_to/>.
Craigslist explained <https://www.craigslist.org/about/FOSTA>, “Any tool or
service can be misused. We can’t take such risk without jeopardizing all
our other services, so we are regretfully taking Craigslist personals
offline. Hopefully we can bring them back some day.”
When FOSTA/SESTA passed the House, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) — a critic of
the bill — warned
<https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-statement-on-fosta-sesta-passing-house>,
“This bill will only prop up the entrenched players who are rapidly losing
the public’s trust. The failure to understand the technological side
effects of this bill — specifically that it will become harder to expose
sex-traffickers, while hamstringing innovation — will be something that
this congress will regret.
--
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Harold F. Schiffman
Professor Emeritus of
Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305
Phone: (215) 898-7475
Fax: (215) 573-2138
Email: haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/
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