Microsoft Faces Fresh Lawsuits Thanks To Overzealous Windows 10 Upgrade Campaign
Don’t get us wrong, Windows 10 is a great operating system and clearly a step above its Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 predecessors. Sure, there have been some questions about privacy and Microsoft has made some questionable decisions regarding features, but for the most part, Windows 10 is a solid release.
However, Microsoft’s biggest blunder with Windows 10 has been its overaggressive campaigning to entice, force, or even trick users into taking part in the free upgrade. The practice has drawn anger from around the world, and two new lawsuits are aimed at the Redmond, Washington-based company as a result.
The first lawsuit was filed in a U.S. District Court in Florida last week, and alleges that Microsoft is overstepping laws that regulate the distribution of unsolicited electronic advertisements (which we read simply as “spam”) via its Get Windows 10 upgrade prompts nag screens. The three men that filed the lawsuit also claim that Microsoft is violating Federal Trade Commission (FTC) laws related to deceptive and unfair trade practices.
The second lawsuit, which was filed in June in Haifa, Israel, alleges that Microsoft has actively installed Windows 10 on PCs without the express consent of the rightful owner. Both lawsuits seek class-action status.
The second lawsuit in particular sounds very similar to the one brought against Microsoft in June. Teri Goldstein claimed that Windows 10 installed without her permission on her work PC, which left it unusable due to frequent crashes. “I had never heard of Windows 10. Nobody ever asked me if I wanted to update,” said Goldstein back in late June. Goldstein was awarded $10,000 in damages, and Microsoft declined to appeal the decision.
July 29th is the last day to upgrade to Windows 10 for free; after tomorrow, the upgrade will cost customers $119 per license. While having to pay for the upgrade can definitely be seen as a downside, at least Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 customers won’t have to witness nag screens anymore begging them to upgrade to Windows 10.
