HARD CALL LLC ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY 

1. INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE 

1.1 This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") sets forth the rules and standards that govern the use of the Hard Call communication-processing platform, websites, applications, and related services (collectively, the "Services") operated by HARD CALL LLC, organized and operating from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ("Hard Call," "we," "us," or "our"). 

1.2 This AUP is drafted to withstand regulatory and judicial scrutiny under U.S. federal, state, and international legal frameworks applicable to online platforms, including but not limited to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, FOSTA-SESTA, the Digital Services Act ("DSA"), the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act ("CFAA"), the Electronic Communications Privacy Act ("ECPA"), GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, COPPA, and other Applicable Law, as defined below. 

1.3 The core purpose of the Services is to provide a human-mediated, safety-focused communication-processing environment that reduces escalation and emotional harm by reviewing, refining, or, when necessary, blocking communications between Clients and Recipients. This AUP defines permissible and prohibited uses of the Services consistent with that purpose. 

1.4 By accessing or using the Services, you agree to comply with this AUP, the Terms of Service ("Terms"), and all other applicable policies. If you do not agree to this AUP, you shall not use the Services. 

2. DEFINITIONS 

2.1 "Applicable Law" means all applicable federal, state, local, and international laws, regulations, and rules governing privacy, data protection, consumer protection, electronic communications, platform liability, and online safety, including without limitation GDPR, UK GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, COPPA, DSA, ECPA, CFAA, FOSTA-SESTA, PCI DSS, CAN-SPAM, DMCA, state data breach notification laws, INFORM Consumers Act, ADA, and Section 5 of the FTC Act. 

2.2 "Client" means the individual or entity that initiates a communication or message for review, refinement, and optional delivery through the Services. 

2.3 "Recipient" means the individual or entity identified by the Client as the intended recipient of a message that may be sent via the Services. 

2.4 "User" or "you" means any individual or entity that accesses or uses the Services in any capacity, including Clients, Recipients using reply channels, Editors accessing internal tools, and visitors to Hard Call’s websites. 

2.5 "User Content" means any content, data, text, communications, messages, information, or materials submitted, transmitted, uploaded, or otherwise made available through the Services by a User, including message drafts, replies, context descriptions, and attachments. 

2.6 "Hard Call Automation" means automated systems, tooling, or software logic used by Hard Call to support Editors and the operation of the Services, including risk detection and workflow routing, but not a replacement for human editorial review. 

2.7 "Platform Abuse" means any use of the Services that violates this AUP, the Terms, or Applicable Law, or that reasonably threatens the safety, privacy, or rights of any person, or the integrity, availability, or confidentiality of the Services. 

3. SCOPE AND RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER TERMS 

3.1 This AUP applies to all uses of the Services, including all User Content and all interactions by Users with Hard Call’s infrastructure, interfaces, and APIs, whether accessed directly or through integrated third-party tools. 

3.2 This AUP forms part of the binding Agreement between you and Hard Call. In the event of a conflict between this AUP and the Terms, the Terms shall control with respect to contractual mechanics, while this AUP shall control with respect to behavioral and content standards, unless otherwise required by Applicable Law. 

3.3 Third parties that integrate with or refer Users to the Services (such as therapists, attorneys, or partner platforms) shall ensure that their own terms and communications with their clients are consistent with this AUP and do not encourage or permit Platform Abuse. 

3.4 Hard Call may impose additional product- or feature-specific restrictions by notice within the Services. Such restrictions are deemed incorporated into this AUP by reference. 

4. GENERAL OBLIGATIONS OF USERS 

4.1 You shall use the Services solely for lawful purposes and in compliance with this AUP, the Terms, the Privacy Policy, and all Applicable Laws in each jurisdiction in which you access or use the Services. 

4.2 You shall provide information to Hard Call that is accurate, not misleading, and updated as necessary, particularly when such information is relevant to safety assessments, age assurance, billing, or contact details for regulatory notices. 

4.3 You shall respect the mission of Hard Call to prevent escalation and protect Clients from harmful replies, and you shall not attempt to circumvent or disable any safety, moderation, or cooling-off controls implemented by Hard Call or Hard Call Automation. 

4.4 You shall maintain the confidentiality and security of any account credentials and shall not share your credentials with any other person or permit unauthorized access to your account or to the Services. 

5. PROHIBITED CONTENT 

5.1 The following categories of User Content are strictly prohibited and shall not be submitted, transmitted, or otherwise processed through the Services: 

5.1.1 Content involving or facilitating human trafficking, sex trafficking, sexual exploitation, or prostitution in violation of FOSTA-SESTA, DSA, or similar laws, including content that recruits, advertises, or otherwise benefits from such activities. 

5.1.2 Content that includes or targets minors in violation of COPPA or other child protection laws, including sexual content involving minors, requests to contact minors, grooming behavior, or any attempt to use the Services to engage with individuals under 18. 

5.1.3 Content that constitutes credible threats of violence, self-harm instructions, or threats of harm to others, including stalking, doxxing, extortion, or blackmail, as well as messages that encourage suicide, self-harm, or violent acts, except where Hard Call’s systems generate safety notices directing Users to crisis resources. 

5.1.4 Content that constitutes harassment, bullying, or hate speech, including severe or repeated insults, slurs, or demeaning content directed at an individual or group based on protected characteristics (such as race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability), where such content could reasonably cause serious emotional distress or incite hostility. 

5.1.5 Content that is defamatory, knowingly false, or maliciously deceptive about an identifiable person or organization, where such content could reasonably cause reputational harm and is not a good-faith opinion or complaint expressed in accordance with this AUP. 

5.1.6 Content that infringes, misappropriates, or violates any third-party intellectual property rights, including copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, or rights of publicity, in violation of DMCA or other Applicable Law, unless submitted in good faith for purposes of legal enforcement or dispute resolution and marked accordingly. 

5.1.7 Content that unlawfully discloses confidential, proprietary, or trade secret information, or that violates privacy rights or data protection laws, such as sharing Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, health records, or other sensitive personal information without a lawful basis. 

5.1.8 Content that promotes, organizes, or facilitates illegal activity, including fraud, financial crimes, money laundering, terrorism, or distribution of controlled substances, or that is intended to evade law enforcement or regulatory obligations. 

5.1.9 Spam or malicious content, including unsolicited marketing campaigns, phishing attempts, malware distribution, or deceptive schemes that would violate the CAN-SPAM Act, anti-phishing statutes, or analogous laws. 

5.2 Hard Call reserves the right, to the fullest extent permitted by law, to refuse to transmit, remove, modify, or block any User Content that Hard Call, in its good-faith judgment, believes violates this AUP or Applicable Law, or poses a risk to any person, even if such content does not fall squarely within one of the enumerated categories. 

6. PROHIBITED CONDUCT AND TECHNICAL MISUSE 

6.1 You shall not attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Services, accounts, computer systems, or networks connected to the Services, whether through hacking, password mining, or any other means, in violation of the CFAA, ECPA, or equivalent laws. 

6.2 You shall not interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Services, including by introducing malware, launching denial-of-service attacks, overloading systems, or interfering with any security- or access-control mechanism. 

6.3 You shall not scrape, crawl, harvest, or otherwise collect information from the Services using automated means (including bots, spiders, or similar tools) except as expressly permitted by Hard Call in writing, and you shall not misuse APIs or other interfaces beyond documented and authorized limits. 

6.4 You shall not reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or attempt to derive source code, algorithms, or underlying models of any part of the Services, except to the limited extent that such activity is expressly permitted by Applicable Law notwithstanding contractual restrictions. 

6.5 You shall not use the Services to probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of Hard Call systems or networks without prior written authorization from Hard Call’s security team, and any approved testing shall occur subject to defined scope and conditions. 

6.6 You shall not use the Services to bypass or interfere with third-party security controls, digital rights management mechanisms, or access controls associated with other platforms or content providers. 

7. PROTECTION OF MINORS AND VULNERABLE PERSONS 

7.1 The Services are intended for Users 18 years of age or older. You shall not use the Services to contact, target, or attempt to communicate with any individual whom you know or reasonably should know is under 18. 

7.2 You shall not submit User Content that exploits, endangers, or depicts abuse of minors or other vulnerable persons, including elderly individuals or those with diminished capacity, whether emotional, physical, sexual, or financial, in violation of child protection, elder abuse, or other protective laws. 

7.3 Hard Call may immediately restrict access, preserve evidence, and report suspected child exploitation or imminent harm to appropriate authorities, consistent with Applicable Law and Hard Call’s safety protocols. Such actions may occur without notice to the User where permitted or required by law. 

8. ANTI-HARASSMENT, THREATS, AND SAFETY PROTECTIONS 

8.1 You shall not use the Services to harass, intimidate, or threaten any person, including through repeated unwanted communications, coercive language, or attempts to circumvent Hard Call’s message limits, cooling-off periods, or block mechanisms. 

8.2 You shall not attempt to use the Services to stalk or surveil another person, to track their physical location, or to compel responses against their will, including threats to appear at their home, workplace, or other private locations. 

8.3 You shall not weaponize Hard Call’s mediated communication model to deliver disguised threats, veiled aggression, or manipulative messages intended to cause serious emotional distress while superficially appearing polite or neutral. 

8.4 Hard Call may, in its discretion and to the fullest extent permitted by law, block, delay, or modify messages or replies that appear dangerous, abusive, or destabilizing, and may terminate or restrict accounts involved in repeated or egregious safety violations. 

9. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND DMCA COMPLIANCE 

9.1 You shall not submit User Content that infringes or misappropriates any intellectual property rights of others, including copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, or rights of publicity, except where such content is provided in good faith for purposes of legal enforcement, dispute resolution, or protected expression and is clearly identified as such. 

9.2 If you repeatedly submit infringing content after receiving appropriate notice, Hard Call may, in its sole discretion, suspend or terminate your access, consistent with DMCA safe harbor practices and other Applicable Law. 

9.3 Hard Call will respond to valid DMCA notices and may remove or disable access to allegedly infringing content in accordance with its DMCA procedures, without waiving any Section 230 or analogous safe harbor protections. 

10. PRIVACY, DATA PROTECTION, AND CONFIDENTIALITY 

10.1 You shall not use the Services to collect, process, or disclose Personal Data in violation of privacy or data protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, or analogous frameworks. You are responsible for ensuring that you have a lawful basis to share any Personal Data of third parties with Hard Call. 

10.2 You shall not submit highly sensitive identifiers (such as full government ID numbers, full payment card numbers, or complete account credentials) unless strictly necessary and specifically requested by Hard Call for security, identity verification, or support purposes, and then only through secure channels identified by Hard Call. 

10.3 You shall maintain confidentiality with respect to any non-public information about other Users and shall not disclose any such information obtained through the Services, except with their consent or as otherwise permitted by law. 

10.4 Use of the Services is further governed by the Hard Call Privacy Policy, which describes how Hard Call processes Personal Data in compliance with Applicable Law. 

11. MESSAGING, SPAM, AND MARKETING PRACTICES 

11.1 You shall not use the Services to send unsolicited bulk or commercial messages, chain letters, or promotional content in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act, telemarketing rules, or analogous anti-spam and marketing laws. 

11.2 Where a communication has any marketing or promotional element, you are responsible for ensuring that you have obtained any legally required consent from the Recipient and that the message includes appropriate identification and opt-out information, as required by Applicable Law. 

11.3 Hard Call may limit or block messages that appear to be bulk marketing, phishing, or deceptive solicitations, even if the Client has some relationship with the Recipient, in order to protect the integrity of the platform and Users. 

12. PAYMENT, FRAUD, AND PCI DSS COMPLIANCE 

12.1 You shall not use the Services to engage in payment fraud, money laundering, or other financial crimes, including use of stolen payment instruments, chargeback abuse, or misrepresentation of identity to obtain services without payment. 

12.2 To the extent you provide payment information through the Services, you shall provide accurate billing information and shall not store or transmit payment card data in any manner that circumvents or undermines Hard Call’s PCI DSS-compliant payment flows. 

12.3 Hard Call may share information related to suspected fraudulent transactions with payment processors, financial institutions, and law enforcement as permitted by Applicable Law and card network rules. 

13. PLATFORM INTEGRITY AND SECURITY REPORTING 

13.1 You shall promptly notify Hard Call if you become aware of any actual or suspected security vulnerability, unauthorized access, or Platform Abuse affecting the Services, and you shall provide reasonable cooperation in any subsequent investigation. 

13.2 Hard Call may operate a responsible disclosure or vulnerability reporting program. If you wish to conduct security testing, you must obtain prior written authorization from Hard Call and adhere strictly to the agreed scope and conditions. 

13.3 Hard Call will not tolerate extortion or attempts to leverage discovered vulnerabilities for personal gain beyond legitimate bug bounty or reward program terms, and may refer such conduct to law enforcement under CFAA and related statutes. 

14. ENFORCEMENT, REMEDIAL MEASURES, AND COOPERATION WITH AUTHORITIES 

14.1 Hard Call may monitor use of the Services, review User Content, and deploy Hard Call Automation and human Editors to detect and address potential violations of this AUP, consistent with ECPA, data protection laws, and Hard Call’s Privacy Policy. 

14.2 To the fullest extent permitted by law, Hard Call may, in its sole discretion and without prior notice, take any of the following actions in response to suspected or actual violations of this AUP: (a) issue warnings; (b) require edits or modifications to content; (c) block or delay message transmission; (d) limit account functionality; (e) suspend or terminate accounts; (f) preserve evidence; and (g) report conduct to law enforcement or regulators. 

14.3 Hard Call will assess enforcement actions on a risk-based basis, taking into account the severity, frequency, and context of violations, as well as the safety of Clients, Recipients, and the public, and obligations under FOSTA-SESTA, DSA, and other safety-related frameworks. 

14.4 Nothing in this AUP obligates Hard Call to monitor all content or activity, nor to take action in response to every reported or suspected violation. Hard Call’s exercise or non-exercise of enforcement discretion does not waive its rights in any future case. 

15. USER WARRANTIES AND INDEMNIFICATION 

15.1 You represent and warrant that: (a) you have the authority to enter into and comply with the Agreement; (b) your use of the Services and User Content will comply with this AUP, the Terms, the Privacy Policy, and Applicable Law; and (c) you will not use the Services in a manner that would cause Hard Call to violate Applicable Law. 

15.2 To the fullest extent permitted by law, you shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Hard Call, its affiliates, and their respective officers, directors, employees, Editors, and agents from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or related to: (a) your violation of this AUP, the Terms, or Applicable Law; or (b) your User Content or use of the Services. 

15.3 Hard Call reserves the right to assume exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, in which event you shall cooperate fully with Hard Call in asserting any available defenses. 

16. DISCLAIMERS, LIMITATION OF LIABILITY, AND SECTION 230 

16.1 The Services, including all safety features, moderation tools, and Hard Call Automation, are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis, subject to the disclaimers and limitations of liability set forth in the Terms. Hard Call does not guarantee that all harmful content or conduct will be prevented or intercepted. 

16.2 To the fullest extent permitted by law, Hard Call’s liability for any claims arising from or relating to this AUP, User Content, or use of the Services is limited as specified in the limitation of liability section of the Terms, which is incorporated by reference into this AUP. 

16.3 Nothing in this AUP is intended to waive or limit any protections or defenses available to Hard Call under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, DSA, or analogous safe harbor provisions, including protections for good-faith content moderation and removal decisions. 

17. GOVERNING LAW, DISPUTE RESOLUTION, AND SURVIVAL 

17.1 This AUP is governed by the same governing law specified in the Terms, typically the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the United States, without regard to conflict of law rules, except where non-waivable local law requires otherwise. 

17.2 Any disputes arising out of or relating to this AUP shall be resolved in accordance with the dispute resolution, arbitration, and class action waiver provisions set forth in the Terms, to the fullest extent permitted by law. 

17.3 Sections of this AUP that by their nature should survive termination of the Services or closure of an account, including enforcement, indemnification, limitation of liability, and cooperation provisions, shall survive for as long as necessary to fulfill their purpose and comply with Applicable Law. 

18. CHANGES TO THIS ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY 

18.1 Hard Call may update this AUP from time to time to reflect changes in legal requirements, regulatory expectations, industry standards, or the nature of the Services. Material changes will be communicated in accordance with the notice provisions in the Terms, such as by updating the "Last Updated" date, posting a notice in the Services, or sending email notifications. 

18.2 Unless otherwise stated, changes to this AUP become effective when posted. Your continued use of the Services after the effective date of an updated AUP constitutes your acceptance of the changes, to the extent permitted by law. If you do not agree with the updated AUP, you shall stop using the Services. 

18.3 Where GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, DSA, or other frameworks require specific disclosures or rights in connection with changes to acceptable use or content standards, Hard Call will implement those requirements in addition to this AUP. 

19. CONTACT INFORMATION 

19.1 If you have questions or concerns about this AUP or wish to report suspected violations, you may contact Hard Call at: HARD CALL LLC, TWO LOWELL AVENUE, WINCHESTER, MA 01890, Attn: Compliance, and INFO@HARDCALL.COM. 

19.2 If you believe that content or conduct on the Services violates Applicable Law or presents an imminent risk of serious harm, you should also consider contacting appropriate local authorities or emergency services, in addition to notifying Hard Call. 

19.3 Hard Call will review and respond to AUP-related inquiries and reports in good faith and in accordance with its safety, legal, and privacy obligations