Microsoft’s SkyDrive Spying catch a paedophile

We have reported and protested about Microsoft spying on our SkyDrive collections, and in particular their rather prudish restriction on nudity, and of course their active policing of the content of our cloud storage.

The Tampabay Times however reports on an occasion where this vigilance paid off.

In April this year the police arrested a Florida resident who had uploaded 3,046 images of “child erotica” to his SkyDrive. Microsoft’s internal security found the photos in March, according to the warrant, and tipped off authorities.

Microsoft reported the suspicious activity  to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, Va. The organization’s "Cybertip reports" were then forwarded to the Central Florida Internet Crimes Against Children task force, which notified Largo police.

The accused had no prior arrests and is the father of a 3 year old.  His wife is protesting his innocence, saying "He’s a very loving father and a good provider to us. It’s not true."

Microsoft’s snooping obviously has the double-edged potential of detecting criminals and also resulting in false accusations.

Do our readers think detecting and finding such potential abusers justifies Microsoft’s rules and procedures? Let us know below.