Legal Question in Entertainment Law in Georgia

Ok so I play on the Xbox Live Network that Microsoft has. Over the last two years or so, I have noticed that players who have been suspended or just banned altogether seems to have just went thru the roof. About 7 times out of 10, the suspended/banned player will make a statement to the effect �why was I banned/suspended� claiming no knowledge that he/she has done anything wrong. Usually the response has to do with the Terms Of Conduct or something similar as in �you violated the TOC�. That is usually about all the player will get. Rarely does MS get real specific with the details.

So my question is this:

Can MS legally suspend/ban (i.e., cancel) a player�s account (who has already paid for it) without specifying why the player is being punished? If I was banned, I would want a specific date, time, and what I said (supposedly) and other imformation I might want. But it seems that all MS has to do is just issue �you are suspended/banned� and that is it. They don�t seem to have to backup their claim with evidence. How can they do this?


Asked on 11/08/09, 5:59 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Scott Riddle Law Office of Scott B. Riddle, LLC

You failed to provide the terms of your agreement with them. Have you read, and do you understand, the agreement you made? Does the agreement require them to provide specific reasons for suspension? That is the place to start. It is best to understand these things when young.

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Answered on 11/13/09, 6:04 pm
Jorge GEORGE Rodriguez Law Offices of Jorge "George" Rodriguez

Microsoft has banned or suspended about 1 million accounts in the past few days due to their determination that the machines have been modified to play copies of games and not just originals. Whether this is permanent or temporary is unknown and you can probably count on it being a legal move based on your contract and TOS / TOC with Microsoft. You can go over those TOS/ TOC terms yourself or with an attorney licensed in your state to see if they are wrong.

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Answered on 11/13/09, 8:07 pm


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