PCBeta guy got his SkyDrive account banned for uploading some "comics&#

[HawkMan]

The American legal system didn't force them to start their scanners on private areas, they did that of their own (stupid) volition.

ISPs smartly didn't accept such terms, I fail to see a large difference between data in transit and data at rest in regards to liability. (Which still begs the question of, what liability, if the content isn't publicly shared). There is no justification for anyone but MS to be looking in MY stuff for any reason without a subpoena.

I've worked with many hosting provider's over the years and the 'its on our hard disks' has never made them liable for customer content.

They added scanners (get this, it's the important part) BECAUSE of the American legal system and previous cases where people and companies where found guilty for data on their systems that they didn't know about.

[Dashel]

OActually it was the other way around too if memory serves (that international pressure was cited, not domestic).

Regardless, the Code of Conduct, as currently written is broken and completely hostile to the customer. So like most bad laws, it won't be until enough regular people are effected that they will fix this mess. And you will have the useful idiots to chime in to 'play by the rules' in the meantime. I dunno, if I was trying to get a handhold in the cloud/mobile market, I sure wouldn't be ****ing on my best feature.

This really needs to make it further into the news cycle than blog websites because they certainly don't tell you that in the stores when they're selling WPs. The majority of users have no idea the privacy and censorship issues exist.

[FaiKee]

According to another guy's post in the same PCBeta thread, it seems MS takes different measures to violations:

http://bbs.pcbeta.co...02&pid=30001133

We have found images involving copyright content on your SkyDrive account,http://********.skydrive.live.com.

Kindly remove this content and any other images, messages or files that violate the Windows Live SkyDrive Code of conduct within 48 hours.

Violations include, but are not limited to, nudity, partial nudity, pornography, harassment, and illegal or offensive behavior. For a complete description of content that is not allowed on Windows Live SkyDrive, please visit our Code of Conduct at: http://skydrive.live...eofconduct.aspx

We also restrict our users from posting full or partial nude pictures of babies and children. This policy has been implemented in order to reduce the risks of predators in the online community and of course to ensure the safety of the children. If your SkyDrive account contains any material of this nature, please remove them as well.

If you remove all violating content, your SkyDrive account will again be in accordance with the Windows Live SkyDrive Code of Conduct, and will remain accessible for your use. Otherwise, we will be forced to close down your SkyDrive as well as any associated Spaces and Profile accounts. Again, while this is never an option we like to take, Microsoft takes the safety of children quite seriously.

You may delete files from your SkyDrive account by following these instructions:

1. Log into SkyDrive

2. Navigate to the 'Shared' or 'Public' folder that contains the offending file

3. Select the file to be removed by clicking the file

4. Click 'Delete'

5. Click 'OK' to permanently delete the file

Thank you for helping Windows Live SkyDrive provide a friendly and safe experience for all of our customers.

Sincerely,

Support Specialist

Windows Live Support Team

My guess is :

- For child abuse or other serious violations, it's "Shoot first, ask questions later"

- Other not-so-serious stuffs, they give you a warning and a chance to remove the stuffs.

[nub]

So wait, Microsoft is going through your files? Another reason cloud computing sucks.

[DDStriker]

Encrypt before uploading?

[123456789A]

Encrypt before uploading?

Or don't upload child porn.

[~Johnny]

According to another guy's post in the same PCBeta thread, it seems MS takes different measures to violations:

http://bbs.pcbeta.co...02&pid=30001133

My guess is :

- For child abuse or other serious violations, it's "Shoot first, ask questions later"

- Other not-so-serious stuffs, they give you a warning and a chance to remove the stuffs.

Interestingly that quote seems to suggest they only care about files that are in your public folder or are being shared, rather than your private storage, though by the sounds of it that's probably not entirely true.

[FaiKee]

Interestingly that quote seems to suggest they only care about files that are in your public folder or are being shared, rather than your private storage, though by the sounds of it that's probably not entirely true.

I guess it depends on the circumstances, because if you keep a copyright material to yourselves, it's alright, but you can't "share" it; but for child abuse it's different, I know that in Hong Kong(and in many places), just keeping the material in your own PC is already a criminal offence.

For images, MS do not actually "see" the image, they check on the "image DNA". :)

[AJerman]

Hahaha, why do people use Skydrive with all this continually happening? There are far better alternatives.

[HawkMan]

Hahaha, why do people use Skydrive with all this continually happening? There are far better alternatives.

oh really. an why are they better? they do the same thing you know. just not as big news.

[AJerman]

oh really. an why are they better? they do the same thing you know. just not as big news.

Yeah, no, other services aren't nearly as restrictive about what you can upload on your private drive as MS is.

[HawkMan]

actually they are. some are in fact worse. read the actual EULA. and all the services have been reported of deleting content with nudity. this is ALL services. at least all reputable services and reputable countries. those in less reputable countries I probably wouldn't trust with my content anyway.

[AJerman]

actually they are. some are in fact worse. read the actual EULA. and all the services have been reported of deleting content with nudity. this is ALL services. at least all reputable services and reputable countries. those in less reputable countries I probably wouldn't trust with my content anyway.

Well, maybe they are and I've not dealt with it. It's not like I sign up for cloud accounts to store porn, but I haven't heard nearly as many issues from other services as with Skydrive. Perhaps, like you say, it's just not as big of news, but unless something is illegal I see no reason for any of these services to be snooping through your files and judging what you have uploaded. I guess that's why I don't really use cloud services for anything but to store some APKs and a few pics or wallpapers on here or there.

That said, I'm quite certain my camera uploads that I've tested out over times may have uploaded some files that could be considered questionable (hey... it happens, haha), and I've never had any issue with any other services. I'd remove said pics if asked for sure, I'd rather them not be uploaded, but I know Dropbox and Google Drive have never said anything. Skydrive continues to have people getting accounts shutdown for false positives. I suppose it's all the risk you take giving your data to someone else.

Edit: Reading the EULA of Dropbox it says no publishing or sharing materials that are pornographic, indecent, or racial, ethnic, or religious hatred, but says nothing about hosting them. They just don't want their service used as a place used to host that kind of stuff. I feel like that's the same stance many other services use. As long as you aren't linking people to files like that, they don't care if you save them privately. Never really tested it out though.

[DDStriker]

Or don't upload child porn.

That was an excessive jump =/ I'm sure they would do a lot more than ban someone if they uploaded child porn everyone should be encrypting their files before using this service anyway they shouldn't be inspecting your files and they shouldn't be liable for what you are storing so if you encrypt it then everyone is happy :D

[theyarecomingforyou]

actually they are. some are in fact worse. read the actual EULA. and all the services have been reported of deleting content with nudity. this is ALL services. at least all reputable services and reputable countries. those in less reputable countries I probably wouldn't trust with my content anyway.

Exactly. Imagine if Microsoft or Google decides to cooperate with the governments in countries like China by uploading anti-communist documents stored by users straight to them. Then take that further and imagine a situation where any pirated material is uploaded straight to the police or RIAA/MPAA. Without a blanket ban on snooping these services cannot be trusted.

[Dashel]

I say a good place to start is for everyone to publicly upload a copy of say Huck Finn, Mein Kampf, Catcher in the Rye etc along with other controversial or classic works (Michelangelo's Bacchus etc) to start exposing how ridiculous their COC is. That is a headline that normal news outlets can latch onto.

[Rippleman]

3 months now and porn is still there and account still active.

[ArialBlue]

Does Microsoft still actively scan all your NOT shared files? With their state of the art patented "this is a penis" scanner?

And is anyone suing them for this yet?

The idea of needing to actively determine which files are appropriate is ridiculous. :/

Who stores their porn on the cloud? Lmfao - Should've read the TOS before doing so

It is a password and account name protected water-proof wife-proof place to store your penis pleasing material.

3 months now and porn is still there and account still active.

That's good. You did upload it full of porn right? All 25 GB? They may be using just a black list from copyright holders.

[Growled Member]

That's one of the disadvantages of using the cloud. Get a good USB Hard Drive and use that instead.

[Dashel]

Local storage is still antithetical to their strategy with Win8.