Microsoft SkyDrive accounts suspended for alleged T&Cs abuse

Users of Microsoft’s consumer cloud service SkyDrive have had their accounts suspended for inadvertently breaking the terms of their end user agreements.

WMPoweruser reports that a user in the Netherlands, going by the pseudonym ‘WingsOfFury’, lost access to his Windows Live account, including Hotmail and Xbox Live, after uploading 9GB of content to a private SkyDrive folder.

After asking for advice on a Dutch forum and contacting Microsoft, he was told his account had been blocked because he had uploaded content that violated the terms of service.

The software giant would not explain what WingsOfFury had uploaded that broke the rules, only that it related to files containing nudity, partial nudity, pornography, or content containing links to external sites that contain similar content.

WingsOfFury said: “Without warning, they have now cancelled my account and they refuse to tell me the reason. I tried to save something (at least I want my mail back), but can already recommend everyone to stop using Skydrive on the same account as your [WindowsPhone7]. A wrong file and you've lost everything.”

This is not the first case of its kind. In 2011, a German photographer had his account suspended for uploading an album that contained four ‘partial nudes’.

Jane McCallion is ITPro's Managing Editor, specializing in data centers and enterprise IT infrastructure. Before becoming Managing Editor, she held the role of Deputy Editor and, prior to that, Features Editor, managing a pool of freelance and internal writers, while continuing to specialize in enterprise IT infrastructure, and business strategy.

Prior to joining ITPro, Jane was a freelance business journalist writing as both Jane McCallion and Jane Bordenave for titles such as European CEO, World Finance, and Business Excellence Magazine.