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<header class="gmail-cat"><h1>Microsoft to ban 'offensive language' from Skype, Xbox, Office and other services</h1>
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<h3>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.'</h3>
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<p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>The changes are part of the <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/servicesagreement/upcoming.aspx" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">new Microsoft Terms of Services agreement</a> that go into effect on May 1 and cover a plethora of <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/servicesagreement/upcoming.aspx#serviceslist" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Microsoft services</a>.</p><aside class="gmail-fakesidebar">
<p>[ Learn <a href="https://www.csoonline.com/article/3215864/privacy/how-to-protect-personally-identifiable-information-pii-under-gdpr.html">how to protect personally identifiable information (PII) under GDPR</a>. | Get the latest from CSO by <a href="http://www.csoonline.com/newsletters/signup.html#tk.cio_fsb">signing up for our newsletters</a>. ]</p>
</aside><p>Civil rights activist and law student Jonathan Corbett took the time to read the new terms and <a href="https://professional-troublemaker.com/2018/03/25/microsoft-bans-offensive-language-from-skype/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">sounded the alarm</a>.</p><div class="gmail-teads-inread gmail-xs-screen" style="margin:0px 0px 16px 160px;padding:0px 20px;max-width:520px;height:258px"><div style="margin-left:0px;margin-right:0px"><div class="gmail-teads-ui-components-label" style="display:block">ADVERTISING</div><div class="gmail-teads-player" id="gmail-teads0"></div></div></div><aside class="gmail-nativo-promo gmail-nativo-promo-1 gmail-smartphone" id="gmail-"> </aside><p>Microsoft provided a <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/servicesagreement/upcoming-updates.aspx" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">summary of the changes</a>; number 5 reads:</p><blockquote>
<p>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.</p>
</blockquote><h2>What qualifies as offensive language?</h2><p>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 <em>investigating</em> alleged violations of these Terms, Microsoft reserves the right to review Your Content in order to resolve the issue.”</p><p>Microsoft did add, “However, we cannot monitor the entire Services and make no attempt to do so.”</p><p>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 <em>remove or refuse to publish Your Content for any reason</em>.”</p><aside class="gmail-nativo-promo gmail-smartphone gmail-tablet gmail-desktop gmail-ntv787043-230144-23887 gmail-ntvClickOut" style="border-bottom:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);border-top:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-top:10px;margin-bottom:20px;padding-bottom:10px" id="gmail-ntv787043-230144-23887"><a href="https://jadserve.postrelease.com/trk?ntv_at=390&ntv_ui=16076f25-c3ae-4d32-aeba-29fb034b093b&ntv_a=AIMDA_zodAYwIMA&ntv_fl=J59HzAIqq7Xi0TucEl1HOo5tmgtZB1l2eQNUwdifkVCiIV52HfpB6jG5ZY1-UhC39LfrK3dZ1uB0860BTJIISg==&ord=-835919446&ntv_ht=6lC6WgA&ntv_r=http://www.nativo.com/about/adchoices" target="_blank" class="gmail-ntvAdChoicesLink"><img src="https://s.ntv.io/img/adChoices.png" id="gmail-ntv787043-230144-23887adChoices" class="gmail-ntvAdChoicesImg gmail-top-right" style="width: auto; visibility: visible; z-index: 9998; right: 0px; top: 0px;" width="16" height="16"></a>
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</div> </aside><p>Corbett also pointed out a portion of text found in Microsoft’s new agreement:</p><blockquote>
<p>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).</p>
</blockquote><p>Corbett then wrote:</p><blockquote>
<p>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.)</p>
</blockquote><h2>Are Microsoft’s ToS changes due to FOSTA/SESTA?</h2><p>Some folks believe the changes in Microsoft’s terms may be related to Congress passing the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1865" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">FOSTA</a>),
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 <a href="https://www.cato.org/blog/death-open-internet" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">called “the death of the open internet.”</a></p><p>The <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4419494-Doj-Sesta.html" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Department of Justice warned</a>
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.</p><p>When the Senate passed the bill, <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/03/how-congress-censored-internet" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) called</a>
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.”</p><p>Already, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/23/596460672/craigslist-shuts-down-personals-section-after-congress-passes-bill-on-traffickin" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Craigslist shuttered its “personals”</a> section, and <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/863xcj/new_addition_to_sitewide_rules_regarding_the_use/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Reddit banned</a> numerous <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/8649ne/reddit_bans_using_reddit_as_a_marketplace_or_to/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">subreddits</a>. <a href="https://www.craigslist.org/about/FOSTA" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Craigslist explained</a>,
“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.”</p><p>When FOSTA/SESTA passed the House, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) — a critic of the bill — <a href="https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-statement-on-fosta-sesta-passing-house" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">warned</a>,
“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.</p></div></section>
<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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