Judge forces Microsoft to lift OneDrive ban

The Court of Rotterdam is requiring Microsoft to unblock a OneDrive user after an alleged violation.

The user was blocked by Microsoft in 2020. Microsoft flagged one of the user’s OneDrive images as “inappropriate, exploitative and harmful to children”. Microsoft refused to lift the blockade, prompting the user to sue Microsoft at the Court of Rotterdam. Recently, the court ruled in favour of the user, requiring Microsoft to lift the ban.

According to the court, Microsoft has insufficiently substantiated why the picture violated the terms of use. Microsoft deliberately avoided substantiating the ban. It argued that US laws did not allow it to share the image with the court. Resultingly, the judge saw no way to assess the ban’s fairness. The court ruled in favour of the plaintiff. Microsoft must lift the blockade.

Rare

In 2020, a judge ruled in favour of Microsoft during a similar case. The account of a Dutch man was blocked after synchronizing child pornography from WhatsApp to OneDrive. At the time, Microsoft had no difficulties substantiating its decision.

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