EA has proven that it’s not afraid to bring the banhammer down on Origin users who defy their Terms of Service. In March, a user on the Dragon Age 2 forums was banned for breaking the forum’s rules, only to find out he’d been prohibited from using his purchased copy of the game as well. Though EA reinstated his Origin access and chalked it up to a system error, Rock, Paper, Shotgun reported that it was not an isolated incident.
EA has never explicitly said that handing out Origin bans alongside forum bans is something that they do. Finally EA responded to Rock, Paper, Shotgun and according to EA Corporate Communications’ John Reseburg: "when someone violates our Terms of Service, we are forced to take actions that can include suspensions and other measures." That’s not a clear confirmation of the policy, though Reseburg later added, "We have listened to our customers and are planning a policy update which will include more equitable rules on suspensions – we want to make sure the time fits the crime."
We understand that EA wants to keep their forum clean (no flame wars etc.) but if that comes at the cost of preventing legitimate purchasers of EA’s products from accessing said games, those purchasers deserve to know about it ahead of time. As it stands now, Reseburg simply suggests, "any user with a question about suspensions or our policies to please contact us at (866) 543-5435 so we can address their specific situation."
Now imagine if Steam would do that…man.
TL;DR: EA banned (and still does) users from Origin and blocks their games if they talk shit on EA’s official forums.
Source: Joystiq
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