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Brazilian Court Orders Microsoft to Restore Hacked Xbox Account and Pay R$2,000

The ruling shows Brazil’s consumer-protection rules can compel a platform to reinstate a user’s digital library and award damages.

Overview

  • A Rio de Janeiro small-claims judge ruled that Microsoft must restore Reddit user Ordo_Liberal’s hacked Microsoft/Xbox account and its digital games library and pay R$2,000 in moral damages after a July 12 court decision.
  • The order gives Microsoft 15 days to restore access or face a daily fine of R$150 capped at R$1,500, plus an extra 10 percent penalty if the payment is not made on time.
  • The suspended account affected more than Xbox games: linked Windows licences, store apps, Microsoft 365 access and OneDrive files were reported unavailable when Microsoft told the user the account was unrecoverable.
  • The plaintiff used Brazil’s consumer small-claims process with a public defender and no court fees, a route several outlets noted allowed an individual to sue a large company at minimal cost.
  • The ruling applies only to this first-instance case in Brazil and is not binding elsewhere, but it highlights friction between platform license terms that treat digital purchases as revocable and consumer-rights laws that can demand restoration.