“Microsoft is cracking down on what people say while using their services online,” CBS Dallas / Fort Worth reports. “According to a new services agreement written by the company, the tech giant is planning to ban accounts that use ‘offensive language’ and will go through your private data to ‘investigate’ users.”
“In a March 1 release, Microsoft is warning customers using Office, Xbox, Skype, and other products that the company is prohibiting offensive language and inappropriate content starting on May 1,” CBS Dallas / Fort Worth reports. “‘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),’ Microsoft warns in a portion of their new codes of conduct.”
“Microsoft also added that the company plans on ‘investigating’ users who are accused of violating the new policy and will block content from being sent to other people,” CBS Dallas / Fort Worth reports. “‘When investigating alleged violations of these Terms, Microsoft reserves the right to review Your Content in order to resolve the issue,’ the new policy states.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: On March 21, 2018, EFF wrote:
Today was a dark day for the Internet.
The U.S. Senate just voted 97-2 to pass the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA, H.R. 1865), a bill that silences online speech by forcing Internet platforms to censor their users. As lobbyists and members of Congress applaud themselves for enacting a law tackling the problem of trafficking, let’s be clear: Congress just made trafficking victims less safe, not more.
The version of FOSTA that just passed the Senate combined an earlier version of FOSTA (what we call FOSTA 2.0) with the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA, S. 1693). The history of SESTA/FOSTA—a bad bill that turned into a worse bill and then was rushed through votes in both houses of Congress—is a story about Congress’ failure to see that its good intentions can result in bad law. It’s a story of Congress’ failure to listen to the constituents who’d be most affected by the laws it passed. It’s also the story of some players in the tech sector choosing to settle for compromises and half-wins that will put ordinary people in danger.
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews readers too numerous to mention individually for the heads up.]