Acceptable Use Policy

User may record factual customer incidents for internal business review purposes, utilizing only the structured report fields provided by the Platform, and in strict accordance with the documentation standards set forth herein.

User may document moderation outcomes, correction requests, dispute resolutions, and audit history, provided that all such documentation is maintained within the Platform's designated record-keeping framework.

User may search internal records using approved hashed identifiers and business-scoped access controls as made available by the Platform; any search functionality shall be used solely for legitimate, authorized business purposes.

User may generate aggregate analytics and trend reports derived exclusively from User's own business incident data, subject to the Platform's applicable usage limits and data-processing policies.

User may export User's own business records in supported formats solely for internal compliance, operational review, or other lawful business purposes; exported data shall remain subject to the confidentiality and use restrictions set forth in this Policy and the governing Subscription Agreement.

User may access and utilize the Platform API within the published rate limits and solely for authorized business purposes; any use of the API in excess of published limits or for purposes not expressly authorized herein shall constitute a violation of this Policy.

User may submit correction requests or dispute filings through the Platform's designated workflow when User has a good-faith basis to believe that report data is inaccurate, incomplete, or otherwise requires amendment.

User may train authorized employees on Platform use, provided that each such employee maintains a separate, individually verified account and that User remains responsible for all activity conducted under accounts associated with User's organization.

User may integrate Platform data with User's own internal systems using only approved integration methods as documented by the Company; any integration shall comply with applicable data-protection requirements and the technical specifications published by the Company.

User shall not, under any circumstances, use the Platform for public accusation, the creation or maintenance of public customer directories, public-facing search pages, or any external-facing disclosure, publication, or dissemination of Platform data; any such use shall constitute a material breach of this Policy.

User shall not include speculation, rumor, insults, retaliatory statements, or unsubstantiated serious allegations in any report field or other Platform submission; all entries shall be limited to factual, documented, and objectively verifiable information.

User shall not, under any circumstances, include protected-class commentary, medical information, financial account numbers, government-issued identification numbers, or any information that could facilitate the identification of an individual's physical location or personal contact details (commonly known as 'doxxing'); inclusion of any such content shall constitute a severe violation of this Policy.

User shall not use the Platform, or any data obtained therefrom, for employment screening, tenant screening, consumer credit decisions, consumer insurance underwriting, government-benefit eligibility determinations, or any purpose regulated under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.)^[1] or analogous state or federal law; the Platform is not a consumer reporting agency and Platform data shall not be treated as a consumer report.

User shall not upload, submit, or otherwise introduce into the Platform any data that User is not duly authorized to use on behalf of User's verified business entity; User represents and warrants that all data submitted to the Platform has been lawfully obtained and that User possesses all necessary rights and authorizations for its use.

User shall not circumvent, disable, or otherwise interfere with the Platform's hashed-identifier controls for the purpose of re-identifying customers, reconstructing personally identifiable information, or correlating hashed data with external data sources; any attempt to do so shall constitute a severe violation of this Policy.

User shall not engage in automated scraping, systematic downloading, bulk extraction, or any programmatic collection of Platform data that exceeds the published API rate limits or is conducted outside the scope of authorized API access; including, without limitation, the use of bots, crawlers, or similar automated tools.

User shall not file, amend, or otherwise submit any report as retaliation against a customer who has exercised their right to submit a correction request, dispute filing, appeal, or complaint through any Platform mechanism; retaliatory filings shall constitute a severe violation subject to immediate enforcement action.

User shall not create duplicate accounts, share login credentials with any person, or permit any unverified individual to access the Platform under User's account or any account associated with User's organization; User shall maintain the confidentiality and security of all account credentials at all times.

User shall not reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise attempt to derive the source code, algorithms, data structures, or trade secrets of any Platform service, feature, or component; this prohibition applies regardless of the method or technology employed.

User shall not use the Platform to facilitate, coordinate, or further harassment, threats, intimidation, or the coordinated targeting of any individual or entity; any such use shall constitute a severe violation and may be referred to appropriate legal authorities.

User shall not submit knowingly false, fabricated, or materially misleading incident reports for any purpose whatsoever; the submission of fraudulent reports shall constitute a severe violation subject to immediate suspension and potential account termination.

User shall not resell, sublicense, redistribute, or otherwise make available Platform data or Platform access to any third party, whether for compensation or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the Company; any unauthorized transfer shall constitute a material breach of this Policy and the governing Subscription Agreement.

Upon a first violation of a minor policy provision, the Company shall issue a written warning to the account owner, which notice shall identify the specific provision violated, describe the nature of the violation, and specify the corrective action required to cure the violation within the designated cure period.

Upon a second minor violation occurring within twelve (12) months of the initial written warning, the Company shall impose a seven (7) calendar day suspension of Platform access; reinstatement shall be contingent upon the account owner's completion of a mandatory policy acknowledgment and certification of compliance.

Any additional minor violation occurring within twelve (12) months of a prior suspension shall result in a thirty (30) calendar day suspension and the initiation of a formal compliance review of the User's account and Platform activity.

Accounts suspended pursuant to a severe violation determination shall be subject to a compliance investigation, which the Company shall use commercially reasonable efforts to complete within ten (10) business days of the suspension date; the Company reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to extend such period as reasonably necessary to conduct a thorough investigation.

Repeated severe violations, or failure to remediate identified deficiencies following the conclusion of a compliance investigation, shall result in permanent termination of the User's account and the irrevocable forfeiture of all Platform access and associated privileges.

Accounts terminated pursuant to this Policy may not re-register for Platform access under any name, entity, or affiliation. Any attempt to circumvent a termination through the creation of new accounts, the use of alternate credentials, or any other means shall be treated as a severe violation and shall be subject to immediate enforcement action.

The Company reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to report to the appropriate legal authorities any illegal activity discovered or reasonably suspected during the course of any enforcement action, compliance investigation, or routine Platform monitoring, without prior notice to the affected User.

All enforcement actions taken pursuant to this Policy shall be recorded in an immutable, time-stamped audit trail, which shall be accessible to the affected account owner and to authorized Company compliance personnel; the audit trail shall constitute the official record of enforcement proceedings.

Any User may report a suspected violation of this Policy by submitting a report through the Platform's designated in-application reporting tool or by sending written notice to compliance@thebusinessguard.com; reports should include sufficient detail to enable the Company to identify the alleged violation and conduct an initial assessment.

Violation reports may be submitted on an anonymous basis. The Company shall not disclose the identity of a reporting party to the subject of the report absent a legal obligation compelling such disclosure, including, without limitation, a valid court order, subpoena, or applicable regulatory requirement.

All reported violations shall be acknowledged by the Company within two (2) business days of receipt and shall be assigned to a designated compliance reviewer for investigation and disposition.

The subject of any enforcement action shall receive written notice, which shall include: (i) the specific Policy provision(s) alleged to have been violated; (ii) a summary of the evidence considered in reaching the enforcement determination; and (iii) a description of the enforcement action imposed, including any applicable cure period or reinstatement conditions.

Account owners may appeal any enforcement action by submitting a written appeal through the Platform's designated appeal mechanism or by email to compliance@thebusinessguard.com within fourteen (14) calendar days of receiving written notice of the enforcement action; failure to submit a timely appeal shall constitute a waiver of the right to appeal.

All appeals shall be reviewed by a compliance reviewer who had no prior involvement in the original enforcement decision and who is authorized to independently evaluate the merits of the appeal; the Company shall ensure that the appeal review process is conducted impartially and in accordance with this Policy.

The Company shall issue a written appeal decision within ten (10) business days of receipt of a properly submitted appeal; such decision shall include a written explanation of the findings, the reasoning for the outcome, and any remedial action to be taken.

In the event that an appeal is upheld in whole or in part, the enforcement action shall be reversed or modified as appropriate, the affected account shall be restored to its prior status, and the reversal or modification shall be noted in the immutable audit trail as part of the official enforcement record.

Each enforcement action may be appealed once; the appeal decision rendered pursuant to this Section shall be final and binding, and no further administrative review shall be available through the Platform.

Retaliation against any User who, in good faith, files a violation report, submits an appeal, or otherwise participates in the enforcement or appeals process shall itself constitute a severe violation of this Policy and shall be subject to immediate suspension, notwithstanding any other provision of this Policy.