TERMS & CONDITIONS

Last updated October 19, 2021

AGREEMENT TO TERMS

These Terms of Use and Privacy Policy (“Agreement”) governs the access to and use of the website https://www.breakingcodesilence.org, mobile website, mobile application and/or other related, linked, or otherwise connected media form (together, the “Site”) provided by Breaking Code Silence and/or affiliates (“we,” “us,” or “our”), regardless of how distributed, transmitted, published, or broadcast, that links to this Agreement. This Agreement is binding on all those who access, visit and/or use the Site, whether acting as an individual or on behalf of an entity, including you and all persons, entities, or digital engines of any kind that harvest, crawl, index, scrape, spider, or mine digital content by an automated or manual process or otherwise (collectively, “you” or “your”).

Please read this Agreement carefully. You can access this Agreement any time in the footer of the Site’s home page or initial screen. Your access, visitation and/or use of the Site, including without limitation any registration on any aspect of the Site, will constitute your agreement to these Terms. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT, YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO ACCESS, VISIT, AND/OR USE THE SITE.

The Agreement may be modified from time to time; the date of the most recent revisions will appear on this page, so check back regularly. Continued access of the Site by you after the date revised Terms of Use are posted will constitute your acceptance of any changes or revisions to the Agreement.

If you violate or act inconsistently with the rules, restrictions, limitations, terms and/or conditions that apply to the Site, whether listed in this Agreement, posted at various points in the Site, or otherwise communicated to users of the Site, we may terminate, suspend, and/or restrict your ability to access, visit, and/or use the Site or any portion thereof, and/or the Agreement, including without limitation any of our purported obligations hereunder, with or without notice, in addition to our other remedies. In addition, we may restrict or refuse to provide you with any future access, visitation, and/or use of the Site. We reserve the right, in addition to our other remedies, to take any technical, legal, and/or other action(s) that we deem necessary and/or appropriate, with or without notice, to prevent violations and enforce the Agreement and remediate any purported violations. You acknowledge and agree that we have the right hereunder to an injunction without posting a bond to stop or prevent a violation of your obligations under the Agreement.

In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between the terms and conditions of this Agreement, and any rules, restrictions, limitations, terms and/or conditions that may be posted at various points in the Site or otherwise communicated to users of the Site, we shall determine which rules, restrictions, limitations, terms and/or conditions shall prevail in our sole discretion, and you waive any right to dispute such determination.

Among other things, the Agreement governs all text, survivors’ stories, articles, photographs, images, graphics, illustrations, artwork, video, audio, music, podcasts, ringtones, games, trademarks, trade names, service marks, and other brand identifiers, designs, plans, software, source and object code, algorithms, data, statistics, analysis, formulas, indexes, registries, repositories, and all other content, information, and materials (collectively, “Content”) available on or through the Site, whether posted, uploaded, transmitted, sent or otherwise made available by us, our partners, affiliates, licensors, vendors, and/or service providers, or by you, and/or other users or third parties, including any such Content uploaded manually or bookmarked by you and/or other users. All of the Content is authenticated and deemed as true by their respective authors as true to the best of their recollection. Additionally, Content submissions must be by one who is 18 years or older, or on behalf of the child by their parent or guardian.

Then information provided on the Site is not intended for distribution to or by any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would contrary to law or regulation or which would subject us to any registration requirement within such jurisdiction or country. Accordingly, those persons who choose to access the Site from other locations do so on their own initiative and are solely responsible for compliance with local laws, if and to the extent local laws are applicable.

The Site is intended for users who are at least 13 years of age. All users who are minors in the jurisdiction in which they reside must have the permission of, and be directly supervised by, their parent or guardian to use the Site. If you are a minor, you must have your parent or guardian read and agree to this Agreement prior to you using the Site.

Description of Site

The Site allows users to (i) learn about the Troubled Teen Industry (“TTI”) and the stories of survivors and (ii) access information about the advocacy, education, legislation, and research conducted by BCS or (iii) our volunteer opportunities and contact information. We may, in our sole discretion and at any time, update, change, suspend, make improvements to, or discontinue any aspect of the Site, temporarily or permanently.

Mandated Reporting

While our volunteers, interns, leadership, professional, and any other related roles act as mandated reporters, you understand BCS does not serve as a mandated reporter. Simply sharing the stories of survivors does not equate to reporting. You understand and agree that BCS is an advocacy agency that reports on behalf of survivors, but we are not a reporting agency. However, you can find such resources related to reporting here.

Monitoring

We strive to provide an enjoyable online experience for our users, so we may monitor activity on the Site, including in the social, community and public discussion areas, photo and video galleries, bulletin boards, forums, chats, blogs, volunteer and intern position search, and elsewhere, to foster compliance with the Agreement. You hereby specifically agree to such monitoring. Nevertheless, we do not make any representations, warranties or guarantees that: (1) the Site, or any portion thereof, will be monitored for accuracy or unacceptable use, (2) apparent statements of fact will be authenticated, or (3) we will take any specific action (or any action at all) in the event of a challenge or dispute regarding compliance or non-compliance with the Agreement. We generally do not pre-screen Content before it is posted, uploaded, transmitted, sent or otherwise made available on or through the Site by users, so you may be exposed to Content that is opinionated, offensive, and/or inappropriate, including Content that violates the Agreement.

User Registration Information

  • We may at times require that you register for certain products and/or services, and/or to make purchases, or register and/or set up an account/profile to access, visit and/or use certain portions of the Service, or the Service as a whole, in which case you may be provided, or required to choose, a password and/or User ID, and you may provide PayPal information, or other payment information, as well as your name, telephone number(s), email and/or street address, and other personally identifiable information. Other information such as your age, gender, an avatar, and the number for your mobile or other device may also be requested. In addition, you may be asked to send us similar information via messaging (e.g., email, SMS, MMS, or other technologies). All such information shall be referred to in the Agreement as your “Registration Information.” We may use and share your Registration Information as described in our Privacy Policy.
  • You agree, represent, warrant, and guarantee that all Registration Information provided by you is true, accurate, complete, up-to-date, and solely yours. You may not impersonate, imitate or pretend to be somebody else when registering and/or setting up an account/profile on the Site. If any of your Registration Information changes, you must update it promptly by using the mechanism or contact information on the Site that allows you to change or update your Registration Information, if available. If no such mechanism or contact information is available on the Site, please notify NGO ADVISOR as described in our Privacy Policy. WE AND OUR INDEMNITEES (AS DEFINED BELOW) SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY ASSOCIATED WITH OR ARISING FROM YOUR FAILURE TO MAINTAIN ACCURATE, COMPLETE OR UP-TO-DATE REGISTRATION INFORMATION, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION YOUR FAILURE TO RECEIVE CRITICAL INFORMATION. NEITHER WE NOR OUR INDEMNITEES SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR VERIFYING YOUR REGISTRATION INFORMATION.
  • We reserve the right, at any time, with or without notice, to remove or require a change to or repossess any password and/or User ID that has been provided to you, any avatar you may be using, or other Registration Information, or otherwise change the access means or methods for portions of the Site.
  • You will be solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your Registration Information. You may not authorize or permit anyone else to access and/or use your Registration Information, or access, visit, and/or use the Site by use of your account/profile and/or Registration Information. You may not access and/or use anyone else’s Registration Information, or access, visit, and/or use the Site by use of anyone else’s account/profile and/or Registration Information. You may not sub-license, transfer, sell, rent or assign your Registration Information to any third party without our written approval. Any attempt to do so will be null and void and shall be considered a material breach of the Agreement.
  • You are solely responsible for all access or visitation to, usage of, or activity on your account/profile, including, but not limited to, use of the account/profile by any person who uses your Registration Information, with or without authorization, or who has access to any computer, mobile or other device on which your account/profile resides or is accessible.
  • If you have reason to believe that your account/profile is no longer secure (for example, in the event of a loss, theft, or unauthorized disclosure or use of your Registration Information), you must immediately change the affected Registration Information by using the mechanism or contact information on the Site, if available, and/or close the account/profile. If no such mechanism or contact information is available on the Site, please immediately notify us.

INDEMNIFICATION:

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless us, our partners, affiliates, licensors, vendors, service providers and each of our and their respective officers, directors, members, employees, independent contractors and subcontractors, agents, representatives, successors and assigns (collectively, “Indemnitees”) from and against any and all claims, disputes, demands, proceedings, cause of action, judgments, damages, liabilities, losses, costs or expense (including but not limited to reasonable attorneys’ fees) of any kind and nature, known and unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed (collectively, “Claims”) that may arise out of or are in any way connected with your access, visitation and/or use of the Site, our Content, unauthorized use of Content obtained on or through the Site, breach or alleged breach of these Terms of Use or from any of your acts or omissions in connection with the Site.

Use of the Site by the user:

The Site is not intended for users under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from users under the age of 13. Such users are expressly prohibited from registering for the Site or submitting their personally identifiable information to us, and from using portions of the Site for which registration is required, such as our social, community and public discussion areas, photo and video galleries, bulletin boards, forums, chats, blogs, personal/job search and other classified ads, contests/sweepstakes, and elsewhere.

You shall ensure that all equipment, hardware, software, products and/or services you use to access, visit, or use the Site does not disturb or interfere with our operation of the Site, or impede or interfere with others’ access, visitation and/or use of the Site. We reserve the right, in addition to our other remedies, with or without notice, to immediately disconnect from the Site any equipment, hardware, software, product and/or services causing interference with us, our partners, affiliates, licensors, vendors, and/or service providers, the Site or any Content.

If you provide us with the number for a mobile or other device, or we obtain the device identifier for a device you are using, you agree, represent, warrant, and guarantee that such device is registered in your name and owned by you, or that you have permission of the device owner(s).

Unless commercial endeavors are otherwise specifically endorsed or approved by us, the Site is intended for your personal, non-commercial use only. You are solely responsible for all usage of, or activities on, the Site by you and by those you authorize or allow to use, or provide access to, the Site, for example, by authorizing or allowing access to your account/profile or any computer, mobile or other device on which the Site resides or is accessible.

You acknowledge that we have not reviewed and do not necessarily endorse the Content of sites, applications, destinations or services linked to or accessible from this Site and are not responsible for the Content or actions of any other sites, applications, destinations or services. You may link to or access any other site, application, destination or service at your sole risk.

You must comply with all local, state, federal, provincial, national, international, and foreign laws, rules, and regulations in accessing and using the Site. By using this Site, you agree to notify us immediately if you learn of or suspect a security breach or any illegal activity in connection with the Site.

You must comply with all applicable import and export control laws, rules, and regulations of United States of America and other countries, and you must not transfer, by electronic transmission or otherwise, any Content subject to restrictions under such laws, rules, or regulations to a site, application, destination, location, person, or entity, or for an end use prohibited thereby. You will not post, upload, transmit, send, or otherwise make available any Content on or through the Site that cannot be exported without prior government authorization or notification, including without limitation certain types of encryption software.

Content that is provided us, our partners, affiliates, licensors, vendors, and/or service providers, including without limitation photos, images, text, music, audio, videos, podcasts, trademarks, trade names, service marks, other brand identifiers, the organization, design, compilation, and “look and feel” of the Site, and all advertising thereon, is protected by local, state, federal, provincial, national, international, and foreign copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws, rules, and regulations, and is the property of us, or our partners, affiliates, licensors, vendors, and/or service providers.

Certain Content may be made available to you on or through the Site for download, installation, and/or streaming on your computer, mobile, or other device, and via Real Simple Syndication (RSS), such as photos, images, text, music, audio, videos, podcasts, ringtones, games, graphics, or software. Such Content is subject to the same terms, conditions, limitations, and restrictions applicable to all Content provided by us, our partners, affiliates, licensors, vendors, and/or service providers. You must, in addition to all of your other obligations, use such Content only to the extent expressly authorized for the particular Content, and you may not use such Content in a manner that exceeds such authorization.

Prohibitions on Use of the Site:

Absent explicit prior written consent, you may not, nor may you allow, enable, authorize, instruct, encourage, assist, suggest, inform, or promote that others, directly or indirectly, do any of the following for any reason:

  • access and/or use anyone else’s Registration Information, or access, visit, and/or use the Site by use of anyone else’s account/profile and/or Registration Information;
  • authorize or permit anyone else to access and/or use your Registration Information, or access, visit, and/or use the Site by use of your account/profile and/or Registration Information;
  • use the Site and/or Content for any commercial, advertising, promotional, or marketing use, including without limitation the photos, images, text, music, audio, videos, podcasts, trademarks, trade names, service marks, and other brand identifiers of us, our partners, affiliates, licensors, vendors, and/or service providers obtained on or through the Site, except as permitted by the Copyright Act or other law or as expressly permitted in writing by the Agreement, us, or the Site;
  • impersonate, imitate, or pretend to be somebody else, by setting up different accounts/profiles or otherwise, or falsely state, represent, or imply any affiliation, association, or connection with a person or entity when using the Site;
  • falsely state, represent, or imply any affiliation, association, or connection between any person or entity, including without limitation you, your company, or your site, application, destination, or service, with the Site, us, or our partners, affiliates, licensors, vendors, and/or service providers.
  • post, upload, transmit, send, or otherwise make available on or through the Site any Content that constitutes junk mail, spam, pyramid schemes, chain letters, phishing, advertising, and/or commercial offers, including without limitation touting or recommending any stocks or particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy;
  • repeatedly post, upload, transmit, send, or otherwise make available on or through the Site the same Content multiple times in a day, week, or month;
  • post, upload, transmit, send, or otherwise make available on or through the Site any unsolicited bulk communication;
  • use any bots, cheats, macros, scripts, or run Maillist, Listserv, or any form of auto-responder, or use any other automated process, or engage in meta-searching or periodic caching of information, to access, visit, and/or use the Site, including without limitation to post, upload, transmit, send, or other make available Content on or through the Site;
  • copy, harvest, crawl, index, scrape, spider, mine, gather, extract, compile, obtain, aggregate, capture, or store any Content, including without limitation photos, images, text, music, audio, videos, podcasts, data, software, source or object code, algorithms, statistics, analysis, formulas, indexes, registries, repositories, or any other information available on or through the Site, including by an automated or manual process or otherwise, if we have taken steps to forbid, prohibit, or prevent you from doing so;
  • engage in personal attacks, or post, upload, transmit, send or otherwise make available on or through the Site any Content about an individual that is abusive, intimidating, bullying, harassing, hateful, violent, or that victimizes, degrades, defiles, or disparages an individual, on or through the Site;
  • use any language, or post, upload, transmit, send or otherwise make available on or through the Site any Content about a group that is hateful, violent, or that victimizes, degrades, defiles, or disparages any group based on race, gender, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, or age, or otherwise engage in what we deem to be racism, sexism, ageism, religious intolerance, bigotry, ethnic slurs, or homophobia;
  • use any language, or post, upload, transmit, send or otherwise make available on or through the Site any Content that may or is intended to enable, authorize, instruct, encourage, assist, suggest, or promote activities that incite violence, constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any local, state, federal, provincial, national, international, or foreign law, rule or regulation (e.g., drug use, underage drinking), including without limitation defamation, child pornography, fraud, or invasion of privacy;
  • stalk others on or through the Site, or using information obtained on or through the Site, or otherwise contact other users in the physical world without their permission using information obtained on or through the Site;
  • use any language that is, or post, upload, transmit, send, or otherwise make available on or through the Site any Content that is or depicts anyone engaged in any act deemed by us to be pornographic, obscene, sexually explicit, perverse, illicit, indecent, lewd, or lascivious;
  • engage in “cyber-sex” (i.e., “virtual sex”) or “sexting” or solicit another to participate in “cyber-sex” or “sexting” on or through the Site;
  • use any language, or post, upload, transmit, send, or otherwise make available on or through the Site any Content that we deem to be offensive, immoral, vulgar, crude, harmful, violent, deceptive, or otherwise inappropriate;
  • post, upload, transmit, send, or otherwise make available on or through the Site any Content that you are bound to not disclose, by agreement, contract, fiduciary duty, employment relationship, or otherwise, such as insider information, proprietary and/or confidential information, or trade secrets;
  • provide professional advice or post, upload, transmit, send, or otherwise make available on or through the Site any Content intended to provide professional advice about medical, health, legal, tax, financial, or investment issues, or to solicit, recommend, or endorse any securities or financial instruments, or suggest that a particular transaction or investment strategy is suitable for you or any specific person;
  • discuss the mechanics of sweepstakes, contests, auctions, flash sales or similar promotions available on or through the Site, or attempt to manipulate, corrupt, or otherwise affect the outcome of any such promotions, or post, upload, transmit, send, or otherwise make available on or through the Site any Content that may or is intended to enable, authorize, instruct, encourage, assist, suggest, inform, or promote activities that may subvert or not comply with the rules, restrictions, and/or limitations applicable to such promotions;
  • post, upload, transmit, send, or otherwise make available on or through the Site any Content that illustrates, depicts anyone engaged in, or is intended to enable, authorize, encourage, assist, suggest, inform, promote or give instructions for weapon and/or explosive manufacture or use;
  • post, upload, transmit, send or otherwise make available on or through the Site any Content that infringes, violates, or breaches the copyright, trademark, trade secret or any other personal or proprietary right of us, our partners, affiliates, licensors, vendors, service providers, other users, and/or any third party;
  • copy, reproduce, modify, change, edit, crop, alter, revise, adapt, translate, enhance, reformat, remix, rearrange, resize, create derivative works of, move, remove, delete, or erase any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary legends, symbols, marks, or notices on the Site, or attempt to circumvent any mechanisms for preventing the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of Content;
  • copy, reproduce, modify, change, edit, crop, alter, revise, adapt, translate, enhance, reformat, remix, rearrange, resize, create derivative works of, move, remove, delete, erase, reverse engineer, decipher, decompile, disassemble, store, cache, aggregate, publish, post, display, distribute, broadcast, perform, transmit, rent, sell, share, sublicense, syndicate, or otherwise provide to others, or use any Content obtained on or through the Site, in whole or in part, except as permitted by the law or as expressly permitted in writing by the Agreement, us, or the Site;
  • copy, reproduce, modify, change, edit, crop, alter, revise, adapt, translate, enhance, reformat, remix, rearrange, resize, create derivative works of, move, remove, delete, erase, reverse engineer, decipher, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise attempt to derive any source code or underlying ideas or algorithms of the Site, in whole or in part, including without limitation any Content, communications, messaging, programming, hardware, functionality, or features on our networks, servers, or databases, or otherwise reduce the Site, in whole or in part, to a human perceivable form;
  • access by any other means than connecting to our servers by http requests using a browser, disrupt, overwhelm, attack, hack, destroy, damage, disable, impair, repossess, alter, tamper, or interfere with the Site, including without limitation any Content, communications, messaging, programming, hardware, functionality, or features on our networks, servers, or databases, or impede or interfere with others’ access, visitation, and/or use of the Site, in any way or by any means, whether remotely or by access to our personal property, premises, or otherwise, including, without limitation, by using administrator passwords or by masquerading as an administrator while using the Site or otherwise; or
  • post, upload, transmit, send or otherwise make available on or through the Site any software disabling devices, time bombs, Trojan horses, cancelbots, viruses, worms, bugs, corrupted files, spyware, adware, malware, malicious programs or code, or devices or defects of similar nature.

CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DO ANY OF THE FOREGOING PROHIBITED ACTS, OR TO OTHERWISE UNDERMINE THE OPERATION OF THE SITE, MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAW. SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, WE RESERVE THE RIGHT, IN ADDITION TO OUR OTHER REMEDIES, TO SEEK DAMAGES (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ATTORNEYS’ FEES) FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL OR ENTITY TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.

Comments on the Site Are Not Necessarily Endorsed by Us:

We do not necessarily endorse, support, sanction, encourage, verify, or agree with the comments, opinions, or statements posted, uploaded, transmitted, sent, or otherwise made available on or through the Site, including without limitation in our social, community and public discussion areas, photo and video galleries, bulletin boards, forums, chats, blogs, columns, articles, personal/job search and other classified ads, contests/sweepstakes, or elsewhere. Any Content posted, uploaded, transmitted, sent, or otherwise made available on or through the Site, including advice and opinions, are the views and responsibility of those who post the Content and do not necessarily represent our views or the views of our partners, affiliates, licensors, vendors, and/or service providers. You agree that we and our partners, affiliates, licensors, vendors, and/or Site providers are not responsible and shall have no liability to you, with respect to any Content posted, uploaded, transmitted, sent, or otherwise made available on the Site, including Content that violates the Agreement.

Contributions or Use of Content Supplied by the User:

To learn about our use of information about you and your computer, mobile or other device that may be collected in connection with your access, visitation, and/or use of the Site, please see our Privacy Policy.

Except as expressly provided otherwise in the Agreement, you or the owner of any Content you post, upload, transmit, send, or otherwise make available on or through the Site retains ownership of all rights, title, and interests in such Content. Content supplied by the user in any way are “Contributions”. However, by posting, uploading, transmitting, sending or otherwise making available Contributions, registering for the Site, entering a sweepstakes or contest, or engaging in any other form of communication with us (on or through the Site or otherwise), you irrevocably grant us a royalty-free, perpetual, non-exclusive, unrestricted, unlimited, worldwide right and license to copy, reproduce, modify, edit, crop, alter, revise, adapt, translate, enhance, reformat, remix, rearrange, resize, create derivative works of, move, remove, delete, erase, reverse-engineer, store, cache, aggregate, publish, post, display, distribute, broadcast, perform, transmit, rent, sell, share, sublicense, syndicate, or otherwise provide to others, use, or change all such Contributions and communications in whole or part (including, without limitation, your image and voice), in any medium (now in existence or hereinafter developed) and for any purpose, including commercial purposes, and to authorize others to do so. Among other things, this means that we may use any ideas, suggestions, developments, and/or inventions that you post, upload, transmit, send, or otherwise make available in any manner as we see fit without any compensation or attribution to you. In any event, you should make copies of or otherwise back-up any and all Contributions, personal data or communications you post, upload, transmit, send, or otherwise make available on or through the Site that you may wish to retain.

Please be aware that Contributions you disclose in publicly accessible portions of the Site may be available to other users, so you should be mindful of personally identifiable information and sensitive Contributions you may wish to post. WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF CONTENT OR PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION YOU POST, UPLOAD, TRANSMIT, SEND OR OTHERWISE MAKE AVAILABLE ON THE SITE. You are solely responsible for your Contributions to the Site and you expressly agree to absolve us from any an all responsibility and to refrain from any legal action against us regarding your Contributions. You hereby waive all moral rights in your Contributions, and you warrant that moral rights have not otherwise been asserted in your Contributions.

MOBILE APPLICATION LICENSE

  1. Use License

If you access the Site via a mobile application, then we grant you a revocable, If you access the Site via a mobile application, then we grant you a revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited right to install and use the mobile application on wireless electronic devices owned or controlled by you, and to access and use the mobile application on such devices strictly in accordance with the terms and conditions of this mobile application license contained in these Terms and Conditions.

You shall not:

  • decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, attempt to derive the source code of, or decrypt the application;
  • make any modification, adaptation, improvement, enhancement, translation, or derivative work from the application;
  • violate any applicable laws, rules, or regulations in connection with your access or use of the application;
  • remove, alter, or obscure any proprietary notice (including any notice of copyright or trademark) posted by us or the licensors of the application;
  • use the application for any revenue generating endeavor, commercial enterprise, or other purpose for which it is not designed or intended;
  • make the application available over a network or other environment permitting access or use by multiple devices or users at the same time;
  • use the application for creating a product, service, or software that is, directly or indirectly, competitive with or in any way a substitute for the application;
  • use the application to send automated queries to any website or to send any unsolicited commercial e-mail;
  • use any proprietary information or any of our interfaces or our other intellectual property in the design, development, manufacture, licensing, or distribution of any applications, accessories, or devices for use with the application.
  1. Apple and Android Devices

The following terms apply when you use a mobile application obtained from either the Apple Store or Google Play (each an “App Distributor”) to access the Site:

  • the license granted to you for our mobile application is limited to a non-transferable license to use the application on a device that utilizes the Apple iOS or Android operating systems, as applicable, and in accordance with the usage rules set forth in the applicable App Distributor’s terms and conditions;
  • we are responsible for providing any maintenance and support services with respect to the mobile application as specified in the terms and conditions of this mobile application license contained in these Terms and Conditions or as otherwise required under applicable law, and you acknowledge that each App Distributor has no obligation whatsoever to furnish any maintenance and support services with respect to the mobile application;
  • in the event of any failure of the mobile application to conform to any applicable warranty, you may notify the applicable App Distributor, and the App Distributor, in accordance with its terms and policies, may refund the purchase price, if any, paid for the mobile application, and to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the App Distributor will have no other warranty obligation whatsoever with respect to the mobile application;
  • you represent and warrant that (i) you are not located in a country that is subject to a U.S. government embargo, or that has been designated by the U.S. government as a “terrorist supporting” country and (ii) you are not listed on any U.S. government list of prohibited or restricted parties;
  • you must comply with applicable third-party terms of agreement when using the mobile application, e.g., if you have a VoIP application, then you must not be in violation of their wireless data service agreement when using the mobile application;
  • you acknowledge and agree that the App Distributors are third-party beneficiaries of the terms and conditions in this mobile application license contained in these Terms and Conditions, and that each App Distributor will have the right (and will be deemed to have accepted the right) to enforce the terms and conditions in this mobile application license contained in these Terms and Conditions against you as a third-party beneficiary thereof.

SOCIAL MEDIA

As part of the functionality of the Site, you may link your account with online accounts you have with third-party service providers (each such account, a “Third-Party Account”) by either: (1) providing your Third-Party Account login information through the Site; or (2) allowing us to access your Third-Party Account, as is permitted under the applicable terms and conditions that govern your use of each Third-Party Account.

You represent and warrant that you are entitled to disclose your Third-Party Account login information to us and/or grant us access to your Third-Party Account, without breach by you of any of the terms and conditions that govern your use of the applicable Third-Party Account, and without obligating us to pay any fees or making us subject to any usage limitations imposed by the third-party service provider of the Third-Party Account.

By granting us access to any Third-Party Accounts, you understand that (1) we may access, make available, and store (if applicable) any content that you have provided to and stored in your Third-Party Account (the “Social Network Content”) so that it is available on and through the Site via your account, including without limitation any friend lists and (2) we may submit to and receive from your Third-Party Account additional information to the extent you are notified when you link your account with the Third-Party Account.

Depending on the Third-Party Accounts you choose and subject to the privacy settings that you have set in such Third-Party Accounts, personally identifiable information that you post to your Third-Party Accounts may be available on and through your account on the Site.

Please note that if a Third-Party Account or associated service becomes unavailable or our access to such Third-Party Account is terminated by the third-party service provider, then Social Network Content may no longer be available on and through the Site. You will have the ability to disable the connection between your account on the Site and your Third-Party Accounts at any time.

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE THIRD-PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS ASSOCIATED WITH YOUR THIRD-PARTY ACCOUNTS IS GOVERNED SOLELY BY YOUR AGREEMENT(S) WITH SUCH THIRD-PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS.

We make no effort to review any Social Network Content for any purpose, including but not limited to, for accuracy, legality, or non-infringement, and we are not responsible for any Social Network Content.

You acknowledge and agree that we may access your email address book associated with a Third-Party Account and your contacts list stored on your mobile device or tablet computer solely for purposes of identifying and informing you of those contacts who have also registered to use the Site.

You can deactivate the connection between the Site and your Third-Party Account by contacting us using the contact information below or through your account settings (if applicable). We will attempt to delete any information stored on our servers that was obtained through such Third-Party Account, except the username and profile picture that become associated with your account.

Editing, Additions and Deletions:

There may be information on the Site that contains typographical errors, inaccuracies, or omissions that may relate to the Site, including descriptions, availability, and various other information. We reserve the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies, or omissions and to change or update the information on the Site at any time, without prior notice.

DISCLAIMER:

THE SITE IS PROVIDED ON AN AS-IS AND AS-AVAILABLE BASIS. YOU AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND OUR SERVICES WILL BE AT YOUR SOLE RISK. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN CONNECTION WITH THE SITE AND YOUR USE THEREOF, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE MAKE NO WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE SITE’S CONTENT OR THE CONTENT OF ANY WEBSITES LINKED TO THE SITE AND WE WILL ASSUME NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY (1) ERRORS, MISTAKES, OR INACCURACIES OF CONTENT AND MATERIALS, (2) PERSONAL INJURY OR PROPERTY DAMAGE, OF ANY NATURE WHATSOEVER, RESULTING FROM YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SITE, (3) ANY UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR USE OF OUR SECURE SERVERS AND/OR ANY AND ALL PERSONAL INFORMATION AND/OR FINANCIAL INFORMATION STORED THEREIN, (4) ANY INTERRUPTION OR CESSATION OF TRANSMISSION TO OR FROM THE SITE, (5) ANY BUGS, VIRUSES, TROJAN HORSES, OR THE LIKE WHICH MAY BE TRANSMITTED TO OR THROUGH THE SITE BY ANY THIRD PARTY, AND/OR (6) ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN ANY CONTENT AND MATERIALS OR FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND INCURRED AS A RESULT OF THE USE OF ANY CONTENT POSTED, TRANSMITTED, OR OTHERWISE MADE AVAILABLE VIA THE SITE. WE DO NOT WARRANT, ENDORSE, GUARANTEE, OR ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE ADVERTISED OR OFFERED BY A THIRD PARTY THROUGH THE SITE, ANY HYPERLINKED WEBSITE, OR ANY WEBSITE OR MOBILE APPLICATION FEATURED IN ANY BANNER OR OTHER ADVERTISING, AND WE WILL NOT BE A PARTY TO OR IN ANY WAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MONITORING ANY TRANSACTION BETWEEN YOU AND ANY THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES.

AS WITH THE PURCHASE OF A PRODUCT OR SERVICE THROUGH ANY MEDIUM OR IN ANY ENVIRONMENT, YOU SHOULD USE YOUR BEST JUDGMENT AND EXERCISE CAUTION WHERE APPROPRIATE.

COPYRIGHT COMPLAINTS:

We respect the property of others and we ask our users to do the same. We may, in appropriate circumstances and at our discretion, in addition to our other remedies, terminate, discontinue, suspend, and/or restrict the account/profile or ability to access, visit, and/or use the Site of users who infringe the copyright rights of others, and we may choose to remove, delete, erase, or disable access to Content deemed to be infringing. It is our policy to terminate the access of repeat infringers.

If you have reason to believe that your Content has been copied and/or is accessible on the Site in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, or that the Site contains links or other references to another site, application, destination or service that contains Content or activity that infringes your copyright rights, you may notify us by providing a document via first class mail or e-mail that includes the following information:

  • a physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
  • identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or if multiple copyrighted works at the Site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at the Site;
  • identification of the copyrighted work that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate such copyrighted work;
  • information reasonably sufficient to enable us to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and if available, an email address at which the complaining party may be contacted;
  • a statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted work in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
  • a statement that the information in the notification is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

IMPORTANT: MISREPRESENTATIONS MADE IN A NOTICE CLAIMING THAT CONTENT OR ACTIVITY IS INFRINGING VIOLATES UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT LAW AND MAY EXPOSE YOU TO LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES (INCLUDING COSTS AND ATTORNEYS’ FEES). COURTS HAVE FOUND THAT YOU MUST CONSIDER COPYRIGHT DEFENSES, LIMITATIONS OR EXCEPTIONS BEFORE SENDING A NOTICE. ACCORDINGLY, IF YOU ARE NOT SURE WHETHER CONTENT RESIDING ON OUR SITE INFRINGES YOUR COPYRIGHT, WE SUGGEST THAT YOU FIRST CONTACT AN ATTORNEY. IN ADDITION, PLEASE DETERMINE WHETHER THE CONTENT YOU ARE SENDING A NOTICE ABOUT IS ACTUALLY RESIDING ON OUR SITE BEFORE SENDING THE NOTICE.

For communications on other matters, please contact us through the means described on the Site (for example, here,) as described in our Privacy Policy.

PLEASE NOTE: THE INFORMATION WE PRESENT HERE IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE.

Termination or Suspension of the Site, Your Use of the Site, and/or the Agreement:

We reserve the right, in addition to our other remedies, to terminate, discontinue, suspend and/or restrict the Site, your account/profile, your ability to access, visit, and/or use the Site or any portion thereof, and/or the Agreement, including without limitation any of our purported obligations hereunder, for any or no reason, with or without notice. In the event of any termination or discontinuation of your account/profile, your ability to access, visit, and/or use the Site or any portion thereof, and/or the Agreement, we reserve the right, in addition to our other remedies, to reassign and/or allow another user to use your password and/or User ID.

Even if the Site, your ability to access, visit, and/or use the Site or any portion thereof, and/or the Agreement is terminated, discontinued, suspended or restricted, by you or by us, we have no obligation to but may at our discretion remove any Content you may have posted, uploaded, transmitted, sent, or otherwise made available on or through the Site. Therefore copies of all information with regard to your account/profile and/or Content you may have posted, uploaded, transmitted, sent, or otherwise made available on or through the Site may be retained and/or remain viewable by us, our partners, affiliates, licensors, vendors, service providers, and/or other third parties, including other users. Nevertheless, we have no obligation to retain, store, or provide you with any information with regard to your account/profile and/or Content you may have posted, uploaded, transmitted, sent or otherwise made available on or through the Site. All provisions of the Agreement shall survive the termination or expiration of the Agreement and/or your account/profile.

Communications with the user:

The communications between you and us will usually take place via electronic means, whether you access, visit, or use the Site or send us messages, or whether we post notices on the Site or communicate with you via messaging. For contractual purposes, you (a) consent to receive communications from us in electronic form; and (b) agree that all notices, documents, disclosures, and other communications that we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications would satisfy if they were in writing. You consent to receive communications and do business electronically and your agreement to do so applies to all of your interactions and transactions with us.

You understand and agree that joining the Site may include receiving certain communications from us, such as transactional, relationship messages, and/or messages about your account/profile, and that these communications are considered part of your account/profile and you may not be able to opt out of receiving them without ceasing to be a registered user of the Site.

SUBMISSIONS

You acknowledge and agree that any questions, comments, suggestions, ideas, feedback, or other information regarding the Site (“Submissions”) provided by you to us are non-confidential and shall become our sole property. We shall own exclusive rights, including all intellectual property rights, and shall be entitled to the unrestricted use and dissemination of these Submissions for any lawful purpose, commercial or otherwise, without acknowledgement or compensation to you. You hereby waive all moral rights to any such Submissions, and you hereby warrant that any such Submissions are original with you or that you have the right to submit such Submissions. You agree there shall be no recourse against us for any alleged or actual infringement or misappropriation of any proprietary right in your Submissions.

MODIFCATIONS AND INTERRUPTIONS

We make no representation, warranty, or guarantee that the Site, or any merchandise, products, services, and/or Content available on or through the Site are appropriate, available, or legal at all times. We may experience hardware, software, or other problems or need to perform maintenance related to the Site, resulting in interruptions, delays, or errors. We reserve the right to change, revise, update, suspend, discontinue, or otherwise modify the Site at any time or for any reason without notice to you. You acknowledge and agree we have no liability whatsoever for any loss, damage, or inconvenience caused by your inability to access or use the Site during any downtime or discontinuance of the Site. There are no terms or conditions in this Agreement that will be construed to obligate us to maintain and support the Site or to supply any corrections, updates, or releases in connection therewith.

PRIVACY POLICY

We prioritize data privacy and security. Please review our Privacy Policy here. By using the Site, you agree to be bound to by our Privacy Policy, which is hereby incorporated into this Agreement. Please be advised the Site is hosted in the United States. If you access the Site from any other region of the world with laws or other requirements governing personal data collection, use, or disclosure that differ from applicable laws in the United State, then through your continued use of the Site, you are transferring your data to the United States, and you agree to have your data transferred to and processed in the United States. Moreover, we do not knowingly accept, request, or solicit information from children or knowingly market to children. Therefore, in accordance with the U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, if we receive actual knowledge that anyone under the age of 13 has provided personal information to us without the requisite and verifiable parental consent, we will delete that information from the Site as quickly as is reasonable practical.

Term of Agreement and Termination Date:

This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect while you use the Site. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THIS AGREEMENT, WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO, IN OUR SOLE DISCRETION AND WITHOUT NOTICE OR LIABILITY, DENY ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SITE (INCLUDING BLOCKING CERTAIN IP ADDRESSES), TO ANY PERSON FOR ANY REASON OR FOR NO REASON, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION FOR BREACH OF ANY REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY, OR COVENANT CONTAINED IN THIS AGREEMENT OR OF ANY APPLICABLE LAW OR REGULATION. WE MAY TERMINATE YOUR USE OR PARTICIPATION IN THE SITE OR DELETE YOUR ACCOUNT AND ANY ACCOUNT OR INFORMATION THAT YOU POSTED AT ANY TIME, WITHOUT WARNING, IN OUR SOLE DISCRETION.

If we terminate or suspend your account for any reason, you are prohibited from registering and creating a new account under your name, a fake or borrowed name, or the name of any third party, even if you may be acting on behalf of the third party. In addition to terminating or suspending your account, we reserve the right to appropriate legal action, including without limitation pursuing civil, criminal, and injunctive redress.

Jurisdictions:

This Agreement and Site are based in California. Those who choose to access, visit, and/or use the Site do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws, if and to the extent local laws are applicable. We make no representation, warranty, or guarantee that the Site, or any merchandise, products, services, and/or Content available on or through the Site are appropriate, available, or legal in any particular geographic location.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

  1. Informal Negotiations:

To expedite resolution and control the cost of any dispute, controversy, or claim related to these Terms of Use (each a “Dispute” and collectively, the “Disputes”) brought by either you or us (individually , a “Party” and collectively, the “Parties”), the Parties agree to first attempt to negotiate any Dispute (except those Disputes expressly provided below) informally for at least (30) days before initiating arbitration. Such informal negotations commence upon written notice from one Party to the other Party.

  1. Binding Arbitration:

If the Parties are unable to resolve a Dispute through informal negotations, the Dispute (except those Disputes expressly excluded below) will be finally and exclusively resolved through binding arbitration. YOU UNDERSTAND THAT WITHOUT THIS PROVISION, YOU WOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO SUE IN COURT AND TO A JURY TRIAL. The arbitration shall be commenced and conducted under the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) and, where appropriate, the AAA’s Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes (“AAA Consumer Rules”), both of which are available at the AAA website: www.adr.org. Your arbitration fees and your share of arbitrator compensation shall be governed by the AAA Consumer Rules and, where appropriate, limited by the AAA Consumer Rules. The arbitration may be conducted in person, through the submission of documents, by phone or online. The arbitrator will make a decision in writing, but they do not need to provide a statement of reasons unless requested by either Party. The arbitrator must follow applicable law, and any award may be challenged if the arbitrator fails to do so. Except where otherwise required by the applicable AAA rules or applicable law, the arbitration will take place in the District of Columbia. Except as otherwise provided herein, the Parties may litigate in court to compel arbitration, stay proceedings pending arbitration, or to confirm, modify, vacate, or enter judgement on the award enter by the arbitrator.

If for any reason, a Dispute proceeds in court rather than arbitration, the Dispute shall be commenced or prosecuted in the state and federal courts located in the state of California, and Parties hereby consent to, and waive all defenses of lack of personal jurisdiction, and forum non conveniens with respect to venue and jurisdiction in such state and federal courts. Application of the United Nations on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and the Uniform Computer Information Transaction (UCITA) is excluded from this Agreement.

In no event shall any Dispute brought by either party related in any way to the Site be commenced more than (1) years after the cause of action first occurred. If this provision is found to be illegal or unenforceable, then neither Party will elect to arbitrate any Dispute falling within that portion of this provision found to be illegal or unenforceable, and such Dispute shall be decided by a court of competent jurisdiction within the courts listed for jurisdiction above, and the Parties agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of that court.

  1. Arbitration Limitations:

Parties agree that any arbitration shall be limited to the Dispute between Parties individually. To the full extent permitted by law, (a) no arbitration shall be joined with any other proceeding; (b) there is no right or authority for any Dispute to be arbitrated on a class-action basis or to utilize class action procedures; and (c) there is no right or authority for any Dispute to be brought in a purported representative capacity on behalf of the general public or any other persons.

 

  1. Exceptions to Informal Negotiations and Arbitration

Parties agree that the following Disputes are not subject to the previous provisions regarding informal negotiations and binding arbitration: (a) any Disputes seeking to enforce or protect, or concerning the validity of, any of the intellectual property rights of a Party; (b) any Dispute related to, or arising from, allegations of theft, piracy, invasion of privacy, or unauthorized use; (c) any claim for injunctive relief outside of user violating terms and conditions of Agreement. If this provision is found to be illegal or unenforceable, then neither Party will elect to arbitrate any Dispute falling within that portion of this provision found to be illegal or unenforceable and such Dispute shall be decided by a court of competent jurisdiction within the courts listed for jurisdiction above, and Parties agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of that court.

California Users and Residents:

If any complaint with us is not satisfactorily resolved, you can contact the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs in writing at 1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N 112, Sacramento, California 95834 or by telephone at (800) 952-5210 or (916) 445-1254.

 

 

 

General:

We reserve the right to post, from time to time, additional rules that apply to certain portions of the Site, or the Site as a whole. Such additional rules will be posted in the relevant portions of the Site and are hereby incorporated into the Agreement by this reference. Your continued access, visitation, and/or use of the Site constitutes your agreement to comply with these additional rules.

The rules, restrictions, limitations, terms, and conditions that apply to the Site, whether listed in this User Agreement and Privacy Policy, posted at various points in the Site, or otherwise communicated to you, constitutes the Agreement and entire understanding between the parties, and supersedes prior agreements between the parties, whether oral or written, with respect to the subject matter hereof. Unless explicitly stated in writing by us, any new or additional features, functionality, or Content that augment or enhance the Site, including the release of updates, upgrades, or new products and/or services, shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the Agreement.

Any delay or failure by us to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Agreement will not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. No waiver by us shall have effect unless such waiver is set forth in writing, signed by us; nor shall any such waiver of any breach or default constitute a waiver of any subsequent breach or default.

We may sub-license, transfer, sell, or assign the Agreement, and/or any of our purported obligations hereunder, at any time to any person or entity, with or without notice. You may not sub-license, transfer, sell, or assign the Agreement at any time to any person or entity, and any attempt to do so will be null and void.

CONTACT US

To resolve a complaint regarding the Site or to receive further information regarding the use of the Site, please contact us at:

Breaking Code Silence

Email: info@breakingcodesilence.org