Newly created Microsoft Advertising account suspended within hours of AIV and a Google Ads import — appeal upheld, requesting human review

Hello Microsoft Advertising team,

I am writing to request a human review of my Microsoft Advertising manager account suspension. I am based in Japan and this is my first time using Microsoft Advertising.

Account information

• Manager Account ID: K1******
• Country / billing region: Japan
• Status: Suspended for "egregious violations" — appeal already submitted and upheld

Timeline of what happened

1. I created a new Microsoft Advertising manager account using my existing Microsoft account. During signup, I chose "add payment method later," so no credit card or other payment method was ever registered to this account.
2. I completed Advertiser Identity Verification (AIV) with my legitimate Japanese identity and business information.
3. Shortly after creating the account, I used Microsoft Advertising's built-in import feature to import an existing search campaign from my Google Ads account. The campaign is for a Japanese B2B SaaS product — a workplace alcohol-check record management system for corporate fleet managers, designed to comply with Japan's 2023 Road Traffic Act amendment (Article 9-10 of the Enforcement Regulations). It is a legitimate compliance tool sold to businesses, not a consumer product, and not related to alcohol sales, alcohol detection device sales, or medical/treatment services. The imported campaign contained 3 ad groups and approximately 30 keywords with negative keywords, all of which have been running on Google Ads in good standing.
4. A few hours after AIV and the Google Ads import, the account was suspended by the automated system. At the moment of suspension, no payment method was registered, no ads had been served, and no charges of any kind had occurred.
5. I submitted an appeal. The appeal was reviewed and the suspension was upheld as an "egregious violation," with no specific reason provided.

Information I believe is relevant to the review

• All registration information (name, address, business details) is genuine and matches my AIV documents. Because no payment method was registered at the time of suspension, there is no possible mismatch between advertiser identity and payer identity to investigate — there was simply no payer on file.
• I have no prior suspended Microsoft Advertising account. I am not attempting to evade any previous enforcement action.
• At the time of registration, AIV, and the Google Ads import, I was accessing Microsoft Advertising from my laptop, which I regularly use while away from home. On this laptop I keep NordVPN's Meshnet feature enabled at all times because I use it to remote-desktop into my home PC for work. As a side effect, my outbound traffic was also routed through NordVPN. My NordVPN server location was set to Japan, so the egress IP was a Japanese IP — there was no geographic mismatch between my registered country and my access IP. However, I now understand that even a Japan-based commercial VPN IP is shared among many users and is technically a datacenter / VPN IP rather than a residential ISP IP, so it may still have a poor IP reputation or be flagged as a VPN endpoint regardless of country. I had no intention of misrepresenting my location or identity — the Meshnet setup is purely for remote access to my own home PC, and the Japan-locked server choice reflects that I am a Japan-based user. I have since disabled NordVPN on this laptop when accessing Microsoft services and am connecting from my normal Japanese residential connection.
• I am aware that some of my keywords and ad copy contain words like "alcohol check," "drink driving," and "roll call (点呼)," which appear in the context of Japanese workplace safety compliance. These words may superficially resemble restricted categories (alcohol sales, alcohol detection device sales, or treatment services), but the actual product and landing page are for a B2B SaaS compliance tool sold to corporate fleet managers under Japan's Road Traffic Act. If the automated flag was related to keyword screening, I would be glad to provide the landing page URL and the legal/regulatory background (Article 9-10) for human review.
• I have never engaged in any of the behaviors listed in the suspension notice (misrepresentation, illegal content, malware, deceptive landing pages, safeguard circumvention, brand impersonation, manipulative data collection, or evasion). The account was suspended before any ad delivery or any financial transaction was possible.

My main concern — potential impact on other Microsoft services The Microsoft account used for this Advertising account is the same account I use for other Microsoft services, including Azure and Microsoft Partner Center, which are important to my work. I am very concerned that this Advertising suspension could cascade to those services, or that my Microsoft account itself could be flagged as a result. I would greatly appreciate confirmation on whether this suspension is scoped only to Microsoft Advertising, and whether there is anything I should do to protect access to my other Microsoft services while this case is being reviewed.

What I am requesting

1. A human review of the suspension with the additional context above, particularly the VPN usage (Japan-locked NordVPN endpoint, but still a shared commercial VPN IP) and the imported campaign content, which I believe are the most likely automated triggers.
2. Guidance on any additional documentation I can provide to verify my legitimate identity and intent. The landing page URL and other supporting materials are available upon request via private message.
3. Confirmation that the suspension is limited to Microsoft Advertising and does not affect my access to Azure, Partner Center, or my underlying Microsoft account.
4. Given that the suspension occurred shortly after importing an established Google Ads campaign for a regulatory-compliance B2B SaaS, I would appreciate clarification on whether the import (specific keywords containing "alcohol," ad copy wording, destination URL with UTM parameters, or the import scale itself) may have contributed to the automated flag, so that I can address any specific concerns in a follow-up.

I understand that for security reasons specific suspension details cannot be disclosed, and I am not asking for those details. I am asking only for the opportunity to have my case re-examined with the additional context I was not able to include in the original appeal.

Thank you very much for your time and for the work your team does. I am happy to provide any further information or documentation needed, including via private message.

Best regards,

Tomo K**

*PII Removed