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Today, Microsoft’s code of conduct might affect cyberbullies. What will tomorrow bring, though?</h2>
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<p> Remember that scene in <em><strong>Demolition Man</strong></em>
where Sylvester Stallone wakes up in a dystopian future and is almost
immediately fined for cursing in public? Wasn’t that an incredibly funny
moment based entirely on the fact that such a future would never, ever
happen?</p>
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<p>Well, today, Microsoft announced new language in their terms of
service policies which clarify that the company is able to serve
penalties, suspensions, and bans against people who use “offensive
language” across Xbox Live, Skype, and other Microsoft services.</p><div class="gmail-code-block gmail-code-block-3" style="margin:8px 0px;clear:both">
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<p>Maybe Microsoft is enforcing this code of conduct on itself because
the wording of the official policy is as careful as it can be. It
states: “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>
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<p>We’re not entirely sure how nudity, pornography, and bestiality are
so casually lumped together – or how Microsoft intends to crack down on
graphic violence when it publishes and develop several graphically
violent games, such as <em><strong>Gears of War</strong></em> and <em><strong>State of Decay</strong></em> – but that’s a conversation for another day. </p><div class="gmail-code-block gmail-code-block-2" style="margin:8px auto;text-align:center;clear:both">
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<p>For the moment, it’s the “offensive language” warning that is drawing
the attention. The biggest issue is that Microsoft makes no effort to
explain what constitutes offensive language. There’s a code of conduct
section for Xbox Live, but it generically notes “Profane words or
phrases.” We assume that ****, ****, and ****** are strictly out, but
what about ****, *****, and ******?</p>
<p></p>
<p>Seemingly aware of the tentative nature of this policy, Microsoft
included a couple of disclaimers. First off, the company notes that it
cannot “monitor the entire Services” and will make “no attempt to do
so.” That suggests that Microsoft is not implementing live monitoring.
However, it <em>can</em> access stored and shared content when looking
into “alleged violations.” This indicates that part of this policy will
work off of a user report system. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Microsoft also states that it can remove or refuse to publish content
for “any reason” and reserves the right to block “delivery of a
communication” across services attached to this content policy.
Additionally, the punishments for breaking this code of conduct now
include the “forfeiture of content licenses” as well as “Microsoft
account balances associated with the account.” That means that the
company could theoretically remove games from your console or seize
money in your Microsoft account. </p>
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<p>Those who are defending this policy point out that Microsoft
essentially admits its ability to enforce such restrictions are limited.
Furthermore, some are imagining that this will be used to implement a
system of punishment for overly eager young <em><strong>Call of Duty</strong></em>
players who use their microphones to suggest what they and your mother
will be doing that evening. While there are noble ways this policy can
be used to crack down on harassment, viewing this code of conduct in
such a way requires a level of optimism that borders on foolishness. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Microsoft has always been within its rights to ban users for both actual crimes and code of conduct violations. As <strong><em>Gizmodo</em></strong>
points out, Microsoft has always had strict rules regarding
pornography, bestiality, and the like in its code of conduct. In fact,
past versions of the code of conduct have restricted “profane words or
phrases.” Microsoft also reserved “the right to review Your Content” in
the past. They’ve even since issued a statement to IGN that clarifies
that this new language issued in an effort to make their policies more
transparent. <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">That hasn’t changed. </span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">What has changed is our understanding of
the extent of what constitutes a policy violation across all Microsoft
services as well as the punishments that Microsoft can enforce. The
clarification of the “offensive language” clause means that a large
group of people who probably never had to think of policy violations
before can no longer be quite as sure they are behaving as Microsoft
seemingly intends for them to behave. The increased punishments said
violations may result in also invoke fears some modern consumers possess
regarding what real rights they have to their digital content. </span></p>
<p></p>
<p>The wider net this particular policy change casts seems to be similar
to Craigslist’s recent decision to shut down its personals section in
response to the recent FOSTA bill (a bill designed to crack down on
online sex trafficking but is vague enough to possibly affect even
consensual sexual arrangements made online). In other words, Microsoft
wants to legally distance itself from any possibility of being
associated with the actions of its users.</p>
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<p>We’ve long looked towards corporations and governments and asked what
they are prepared to do about how we interact with each other. Well,
we’re now starting to hear their response. </p>
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<p>I know, you don’t want politics in your video games and other forms
of escapism. Truth be told, I don’t either. That’s the point, though.
Policies like this are making it impossible to ignore the ways in which
our means of communication and escape are becoming ever more open to
those who would wish to monitor them for purposes both frighteningly
clear and disturbingly vague.</p>
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<p>The inclusion of a vague term like “offensive language” in this new
policy is troubling because it technically leaves the decision of what’s
“offensive” solely to Microsoft, which can then penalize you
financially. Virtually every user curses once in a while on Xbox Live,
shares a dirty word on a Word document, or maybe even says things he/she
wouldn’t share with their moms to a cross-country partner over Skype.
Are these now enough to get Microsoft’s attention?</p>
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<p>Don’t be scared about this policy because of how it alters your
today. Be scared of it because of the clear line it traces between today
and a future in which we are openly fined credits for violations of the
verbal morality statute. </p>
<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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