Regardless of who is right or wrong, this situation convinces me that using Upwork does not seem like a good idea. I had already been put off by their spyware,

Regardless of who is right or wrong, this situation convinces me that using Upwork does not seem like a good idea. I had already been put off by their spyware, but this kind of situation should never have escalated like this if Upwork actually valued its freelancers. Clearly, they value the people that write the checks more than those who cash them, so why would I ever trust them to represent my interests? They will resolve any conflict of interest in favor of their own profits.