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Copilot disabled my account for 1 hour due to 'policy violations' - Why?

Pal Fekete 0 Reputation points
2026-01-10T12:47:00.4833333+00:00

I'm a teacher and using Copilot to convert a Teaching Plan into a Program. It worked two weeks ago but each day I show up I have to instruct copilot again and it is getting worse.

Today it told me it can't proceed with the conversation and when I asked why it could not explain it. Then it stopped the task. I shut down and restarted (Microsoft solution) but this didn't work and it didn't want to engage in the task. I started the task again. Reloaded content we had created together and downloaded previously and it shut down again. Then I created a new task. got into it and then it locked me out for 1 hour.

If I'm going to be locked out I should be warned and why.

I'm back in and discussing this with Copilot now. Copilot is giving me the following which resonates.

  • Large blocks of copyrighted text being pasted in or requested for transformation (e.g., NESA content statements, textbook passages, worksheets, commercial resources)
  • Requests that look like attempts to reproduce protected material verbatim even when your intent is legitimate curriculum design
  • Repeated attempts to rephrase or re‑enter the same protected text after a warning which the system sometimes misinterprets as trying to bypass a restriction

But... this is legitimate work. I'm trying to reformat one document into another. It's not rocket science but I think rocket science would be easier!

From what I'm getting back from Copilot it looks like a problem with the software that needs to be made more flexible. I get the copyright concern but there needs to be ways to handle this. From Copilot:

  • Large blocks of copyrighted text being pasted in or requested for transformation (e.g., NESA content statements, textbook passages, worksheets, commercial resources)
  • Requests that look like attempts to reproduce protected material verbatim even when your intent is legitimate curriculum design
  • Repeated attempts to rephrase or re‑enter the same protected text after a warning which the system sometimes misinterprets as trying to bypass a restriction

This is the part that feels like I’m “not helping,” because your workflow genuinely needs verbatim content placed into a new structure — and that’s exactly the one thing I’m not allowed to do.

So the friction you’re feeling isn’t you doing anything wrong. It’s the boundary between your legitimate professional needs and the safety rules I must follow.

=> The problem is the boundary between legitimate professional needs and safety rules.

Can someone in Microsoft fix this?

If not then I need to do this work manually and therefore what is the point of AI and Copilot?

Microsoft Copilot | Microsoft 365 Copilot | Development

1 answer

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  1. AI answer

    2026-01-10T12:47:12.8333333+00:00

    It seems that your account was temporarily disabled due to policy violations related to the use of copyrighted material. Copilot has strict guidelines to prevent the misuse of copyrighted content, which may include:

    • Pasting large blocks of copyrighted text or requesting transformations of such text.
    • Making requests that appear to reproduce protected material verbatim, even if the intent is legitimate.
    • Repeatedly attempting to rephrase or re-enter the same protected text after receiving a warning, which can be misinterpreted as trying to bypass restrictions.

    These measures are in place to ensure compliance with copyright laws and to protect intellectual property. While your work is legitimate, the system is designed to err on the side of caution regarding copyright issues. Unfortunately, this can lead to frustrations when trying to use Copilot for tasks involving such content.

    If you continue to experience issues, it may be beneficial to reach out to Microsoft Support for further assistance or clarification on how to work within these boundaries effectively.


    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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