ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

Cognitiva Systems Inc.
Effective Date: 15 April 2026
Last Updated: 15 April 2026

1. INTRODUCTION

This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") governs your use of Cognitiva Systems Inc.'s ("Cognitiva," "we," "us," or "our") services, including CognitivaOS platform, Intelligence Platform APIs, and related services (collectively, "Services").

Incorporation into Terms of Use:
This AUP is incorporated by reference into our Terms of Use. Violation of this AUP constitutes a material breach of the Terms of Use and may result in suspension or termination of your account.

Purpose:
This AUP protects Cognitiva, our users, and the broader internet community from abusive, harmful, or illegal conduct.

2. SCOPE

2.1 Who This Applies To

This AUP applies to:

All users of CognitivaOS platform
All users of Intelligence Platform APIs
All visitors to cognitiva.systems
Anyone accessing our Services in any capacity

2.2 Your Responsibility

You are responsible for:

Your own conduct and content
Conduct of anyone using your account or API keys
Ensuring authorized users comply with this AUP
Monitoring for violations by your team members
Promptly addressing violations when identified

3. PROHIBITED CONTENT

You may NOT use our Services to create, upload, transmit, distribute, store, or facilitate the distribution of content that:

3.1 Illegal Content

Prohibited: ✗ Violates any applicable law or regulation
✗ Promotes or facilitates illegal activity
✗ Infringes intellectual property rights (copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret)
✗ Violates privacy, publicity, or data protection rights
✗ Constitutes illegal gambling or unauthorized securities trading
✗ Facilitates the sale of illegal goods or services

Examples:

Pirated software, movies, music
Counterfeit goods
Illegal drugs or drug paraphernalia
Stolen credentials or payment card data
Pyramid schemes or illegal MLMs

3.2 Harmful or Dangerous Content

Prohibited: ✗ Promotes violence, terrorism, or extremism
✗ Depicts or encourages self-harm, suicide, or eating disorders
✗ Contains instructions for creating weapons or explosives
✗ Facilitates human trafficking or exploitation
✗ Promotes dangerous challenges or stunts

Examples:

Terrorist recruitment materials
Bomb-making instructions
Self-harm communities
Human trafficking solicitation

3.3 Child Safety

Absolute Zero Tolerance:

✗ Child sexual abuse material (CSAM)
✗ Content sexualizing minors
✗ Facilitating child exploitation
✗ Grooming behaviors toward minors
✗ Age-inappropriate content marketed to children

Immediate Actions:

Account terminated immediately
Content reported to National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)
Reported to law enforcement
Preservation of evidence for investigation

No Exceptions: This policy is strictly enforced with zero tolerance.

3.4 Hate Speech and Harassment

Prohibited: ✗ Content promoting hatred based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, age, or other protected characteristics
✗ Harassment, bullying, or intimidation
✗ Doxing (publishing private information without consent)
✗ Threats of violence or harm
✗ Coordinated harassment campaigns
✗ Impersonation for harassment purposes

Examples:

Racist, sexist, or homophobic content
Targeted harassment campaigns
Publishing someone's home address maliciously
Death threats or violent threats
Hate group recruitment

Context Matters:

Educational, documentary, or counter-speech content may be permitted
Reporting on hate speech is different from promoting it
Satire must be clearly labeled and not reasonably mistaken for genuine hate

3.5 Sexual Content

Prohibited: ✗ Non-consensual intimate imagery (revenge porn)
✗ Content sexualizing minors (any age under 18)
✗ Solicitation of prostitution or sexual services
✗ Bestiality
✗ Content promoting sexual violence
✗ Deepfakes or AI-generated sexual content without consent

Generally Prohibited (Platform Not Designed For):

Adult sexual content (our platform is for business/marketing campaigns, not adult content)
Pornography
Sexually explicit content

Limited Exceptions:

Educational or medical content (with appropriate warnings)
Artistic/literary content (context-dependent)
Campaign content promoting sexual health products (if compliant with advertising laws)

3.6 Graphic Violence and Gore

Prohibited: ✗ Gratuitous violence or gore
✗ Animal abuse
✗ Videos of real-world violence shared for shock value
✗ Content glorifying violence

Permitted with Context:

News reporting (with content warnings)
Documentary content
Educational content (medical, historical)
Fictional depictions (clearly labeled)

3.7 Misinformation and Fraud

Prohibited: ✗ Scams, fraud, or deceptive practices
✗ Phishing attempts
✗ Impersonation of others (individuals, brands, organizations)
✗ Fake reviews or testimonials
✗ Misleading health claims (miracle cures, anti-vaccine misinformation)
✗ Financial misinformation (pump-and-dump schemes)
✗ Election misinformation (voter suppression, false voting procedures)

Examples:

Advance fee scams (Nigerian prince emails)
Fake celebrity endorsements
Misleading before/after photos
False claims about product efficacy
Impersonating government agencies

Fact-Checking:

We do not fact-check general opinions or political speech
We act on clear fraud, scams, and dangerous health misinformation
When in doubt, we may add warning labels rather than remove content

3.8 Spam and Manipulation

Prohibited: ✗ Unsolicited commercial messages (spam)
✗ Mass messaging without recipient consent
✗ Deceptive affiliate marketing
✗ Artificially inflating engagement metrics
✗ Fake accounts or bot networks
✗ Review manipulation
✗ Astroturfing (fake grassroots campaigns)

Examples:

Buying fake followers or engagement
Creating multiple accounts to amplify messaging
Paying for fake reviews
Email spam campaigns
Automated messaging bots

4. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES

4.1 Technical Abuse

Prohibited: ✗ Hacking, cracking, or unauthorized access attempts
✗ Circumventing security measures
✗ Reverse engineering platform code or APIs
✗ Automated scraping or data harvesting (without permission)
✗ Denial of service (DoS) attacks
✗ Malware distribution (viruses, trojans, ransomware, spyware)
✗ Exploiting software vulnerabilities
✗ Password cracking or brute force attacks
✗ SQL injection or code injection attacks
✗ Cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks

Examples:

Port scanning our infrastructure
Attempting SQL injection in forms
Distributing keyloggers
Automated account creation to bypass rate limits
Scraping user data without authorization

Security Research Exception:

Responsible disclosure welcomed (security@cognitiva.systems)
Coordinated vulnerability disclosure program
Do NOT exploit vulnerabilities
Do NOT access others' data
Report findings privately before public disclosure

4.2 Account Abuse

Prohibited: ✗ Creating multiple accounts to evade restrictions
✗ Sharing accounts with unauthorized users
✗ Selling, renting, or transferring accounts
✗ Using false identity to create accounts
✗ Creating accounts for minors under 18
✗ Creating accounts for banned users
✗ Automating account actions beyond permitted API use

Examples:

Creating alt accounts after ban
Using fake email addresses for multiple accounts
Sharing API keys publicly
Selling access to platform

4.3 Payment Abuse

Prohibited: ✗ Fraudulent payment methods (stolen cards, fake checks)
✗ Chargeback fraud (false disputes)
✗ Payment for prohibited content or activities
✗ Money laundering
✗ Evading payment obligations
✗ Exploiting payment system vulnerabilities

Examples:

Using stolen credit cards
Filing false chargeback claims after receiving service
Structuring payments to evade detection
Using platform to launder money

4.4 Intellectual Property Violations

Prohibited: ✗ Copyright infringement (using others' content without permission)
✗ Trademark infringement (using others' brands misleadingly)
✗ Counterfeiting or selling fake goods
✗ Stealing trade secrets
✗ Violating open source licenses
✗ Piracy or facilitating piracy

Examples:

Using copyrighted images without license
Claiming others' work as your own
Selling counterfeit products
Using trademarked logos to mislead

DMCA Compliance:

We respond to valid DMCA takedown notices
Counter-notification process available
Contact: dmca@cognitiva.systems

4.5 Platform Manipulation

Prohibited: ✗ Gaming or manipulating AI systems
✗ Adversarial attacks on ML models
✗ Poisoning training data
✗ Exploiting rating or matching algorithms
✗ Creating fake signals to manipulate recommendations
✗ Coordinating to manipulate platform outcomes

Examples:

Submitting fake campaign data to skew AI predictions
Creating fake creator profiles with inflated metrics
Coordinated rating manipulation
Model extraction attacks
Adversarial examples to fool compliance detection

4.6 Competitive Intelligence

Prohibited: ✗ Benchmarking our Services against competitors (without permission)
✗ Reverse engineering for competitive purposes
✗ Using platform to build competing products
✗ Extracting proprietary data or insights for competitors
✗ Recruiting our employees while using Services

Permitted:

General competitive research (public information)
Using our Services for your legitimate business
Switching to competitors (after proper account termination)

4.7 Regulatory Violations

Prohibited: ✗ Violating export control laws
✗ Transacting with sanctioned entities or countries
✗ Money services without proper licensing
✗ Violating industry-specific regulations (HIPAA, FINRA, etc.)
✗ Facilitating tax evasion
✗ Violating advertising regulations (FTC, FDA, etc.)

Examples:

Selling to customers in sanctioned countries (Iran, North Korea)
Operating as unlicensed money transmitter
HIPAA-covered entities using platform without BAA
False advertising claims
Multilevel marketing without disclosures

5. SPECIFIC USE CASE RESTRICTIONS

5.1 Creator/Influencer Campaigns

Prohibited: ✗ Campaigns promoting illegal products or services
✗ Misleading endorsements (FTC violations)
✗ Undisclosed sponsored content
✗ Fake influencer profiles
✗ Bot-driven engagement
✗ Campaigns targeting children inappropriately

Required: ✓ FTC disclosure compliance (#ad, #sponsored)
✓ Honest representation of creator metrics
✓ Age-appropriate content for audience
✓ Compliance with platform rules (Instagram, TikTok, etc.)

5.2 Data and AI Usage

Prohibited: ✗ Using AI for prohibited purposes (surveillance, social scoring, etc.)
✗ Training models on others' proprietary data without permission
✗ Using platform data to identify individuals (re-identification)
✗ Biased or discriminatory AI use
✗ Using AI outputs to harm individuals

Required: ✓ Ethical AI use
✓ Respect data privacy
✓ Human oversight for consequential decisions
✓ Transparency about AI use where required

5.3 API Use

Prohibited: ✗ Exceeding rate limits intentionally
✗ Sharing API keys
✗ Using APIs for prohibited content or activities
✗ Reverse engineering API to extract models
✗ Caching to avoid per-request charges
✗ Reselling API access without authorization

Required: ✓ Respect rate limits
✓ Keep API keys secure
✓ Attribution where required
✓ Pay for usage honestly

6. MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT

6.1 Our Monitoring

We may monitor for violations through:

Automated systems (content filters, anomaly detection)
User reports
Security systems
Compliance reviews
Third-party reports (DMCA, law enforcement, etc.)

We do NOT:

Read every message or piece of content
Proactively review all campaign content
Act as arbiter of truth or fact-checker for opinions

Privacy:

Monitoring respects Privacy Policy
No human review unless violation suspected
Security and Trust & Safety teams access content only as needed

6.2 User Reporting

How to Report Violations:

Email: abuse@cognitiva.systems
Subject Line: "AUP Violation Report"
Include:

URL or description of violating content
Nature of violation (which AUP section)
Your contact information (for follow-up)
Any supporting evidence

Anonymous Reports: Accepted, but follow-up limited

Response Time:

Urgent (child safety, imminent harm): Within 1 hour
High priority (harassment, illegal content): Within 24 hours
Standard: Within 5 business days

6.3 Investigation Process

When violation suspected:

Initial Review: Automated or manual assessment
Investigation: Gather facts, review evidence
Decision: Violation confirmed or dismissed
Action: Warning, content removal, suspension, or termination
Notification: User notified of decision (except where prohibited by law)
Appeal: User may appeal (see Section 6.5)

Factors Considered:

Severity of violation
Intent (accidental vs. deliberate)
History of violations
Harm caused
Responsiveness to warnings

6.4 Enforcement Actions

Progressive Discipline (Typical):

1st Offense (Minor):

Warning issued
Content removed
Education on AUP

2nd Offense (Minor) or 1st Offense (Moderate):

Temporary suspension (24-72 hours)
Content removed
Warning of termination risk

3rd Offense or 1st Offense (Severe):

Account termination
No refund
May include legal action

Immediate Termination (No Warning):

Child safety violations
Terrorism or violent extremism
Severe illegal activity
Security threats
Repeat offenders after termination

Other Actions:

Feature restrictions (limit certain capabilities)
Rate limiting (slow down API access)
Content removal (without account action)
Reporting to authorities (when legally required)

6.5 Appeals Process

If you believe action was taken in error:

Email: appeals@cognitiva.systems
Subject: "AUP Appeal - [Account ID/Email]"
Include:

Original violation notice
Explanation of why action was wrong
Supporting evidence
Commitment to comply going forward

Timeline:

Acknowledgment: Within 48 hours
Decision: Within 10 business days
Complex cases: Up to 30 days

Outcomes:

Action upheld (no change)
Action modified (reduced penalty)
Action reversed (account reinstated)

Not Appealable:

Child safety violations
Clear, severe violations
Repeat violations after multiple warnings

7. CONSEQUENCES OF VIOLATIONS

7.1 Account Actions

Warning:

No service interruption
Violation documented
Future violations escalate

Suspension:

Temporary loss of access (24 hours to 30 days)
Content may be removed
No refund for suspension period

Termination:

Permanent account closure
All data subject to deletion per Data Retention Policy
No refund of prepaid fees
Prohibited from creating new accounts

7.2 Legal Consequences

We may:

Report violations to law enforcement
Cooperate with investigations
Provide evidence in legal proceedings
Seek damages for harm caused
Pursue injunctive relief
Report to NCMEC (child safety)
Report to IC3 (internet crime)

You may face:

Criminal prosecution
Civil lawsuits (from us or third parties)
Fines and penalties
Imprisonment (for serious crimes)

7.3 Financial Consequences

Termination for Violations:

No refund of subscription fees
No refund of API usage fees
You remain liable for unpaid fees
We may pursue collection

Costs of Enforcement:

You may be liable for our costs (attorney fees, investigation costs)
DMCA violations: Statutory damages
Fraud: Damages and restitution

8. PROHIBITED JURISDICTIONS

8.1 Sanctioned Countries

Services NOT available in:

U.S. Sanctioned Countries:

Cuba
Iran
North Korea
Syria
Crimea region of Ukraine
Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine

OFAC/UN Sanctions:

Entities on OFAC SDN List
Entities on UN Sanctions List
Entities on EU Sanctions List

Your Certification: By using Services, you certify you are NOT:

Located in sanctioned jurisdiction
On any sanctions list
Owned/controlled by sanctioned entity
Acting on behalf of sanctioned entity

8.2 High-Risk Use Cases

Prior Written Approval Required:

If your use case involves:

Healthcare (HIPAA-covered entities)
Financial services (banks, payment processors)
Government or defense
Critical infrastructure
Children under 13 (COPPA)
High-risk AI systems (per EU AI Act)

Contact: compliance@cognitiva.systems before use

9. SPECIFIC PLATFORM RULES

9.1 CognitivaOS Campaigns

Campaign Content Must: ✓ Comply with target platform rules (Instagram, TikTok, etc.)
✓ Include required disclosures (FTC, local law)
✓ Be age-appropriate for audience
✓ Respect intellectual property
✓ Not contain prohibited content (Section 3)

Creator Behavior Must: ✓ Be authentic (no fake profiles)
✓ Deliver as promised
✓ Communicate professionally
✓ Follow platform community guidelines

9.2 Intelligence Platform APIs

API Use Must: ✓ Stay within rate limits
✓ Use API keys securely
✓ Provide attribution where required
✓ Not attempt to extract/reverse engineer models
✓ Not use for prohibited purposes (social scoring, surveillance)
✓ Include human oversight for consequential decisions

API Use Must NOT: ✗ Create competing AI service
✗ Resell API access
✗ Cache to avoid billing
✗ Share API keys
✗ Probe for vulnerabilities

9.3 Data Contributions

If Contributing Data (Opt-In):

✓ You must have rights to contribute
✓ Data must not contain prohibited content
✓ Data must be accurately labeled
✓ No attempt to poison or corrupt dataset
✓ Privacy-sensitive data must be properly anonymized

10. UPDATES TO THIS POLICY

10.1 Changes

We may update this AUP:

To address new types of abuse
To comply with legal requirements
To clarify existing rules
To improve enforcement

Notification:

Material changes: 30 days advance notice via email
Minor clarifications: Updated policy posted, "Last Updated" date changed

Continued Use: Using Services after effective date = acceptance of updated AUP

10.2 Version History

Current version: 1.0
Effective date: 15 April 2026
Previous versions: This is the first published version

11. CONTACT INFORMATION

11.1 Report Violations

General Abuse: abuse@cognitiva.systems
Child Safety: ncmec@cognitiva.systems (also reported to NCMEC)
Security Issues: security@cognitiva.systems
Copyright (DMCA): dmca@cognitiva.systems
Appeals: appeals@cognitiva.systems

11.2 Questions

Phone: +1 302-217-6601
AUP Questions: legal@cognitiva.systems

12. INTERPRETATION

12.1 Precedence

In case of conflict:

Terms of Use
This Acceptable Use Policy
Other policies

12.2 Examples

Examples throughout this AUP are illustrative, not exhaustive. Unlisted activities may still violate this AUP if they:

Harm others
Violate law
Abuse the Services
Breach trust

12.3 Context Matters

We consider:

Intent behind the content
Context of the communication
Affected parties and harm
Cultural and linguistic context
Educational vs. promotional purpose

Same content may be:

Permitted in news/documentary context
Prohibited if promoting harmful activity

12.4 Discretion

We reserve the right to:

Interpret this AUP reasonably
Make judgment calls in ambiguous cases
Err on side of safety (remove first, restore if error)
Take action not explicitly listed if necessary to protect Services or users

We are NOT obligated to:

Monitor all content
Act on every violation immediately
Explain every enforcement decision publicly
Provide advance warning for severe violations

13. LEGAL DISCLAIMER

13.1 No Liability for User Content

We are not responsible for:

User-generated content
Actions of users
Harm caused by violations
Third-party claims arising from your violations

Your Responsibility:
You indemnify us against claims arising from your AUP violations (per Terms of Use).

13.2 No Guarantee of Enforcement

We do NOT guarantee:

Detection of all violations
Immediate action on all violations
Consistency in enforcement across all cases
Removal of all violating content

Best Efforts:
We use commercially reasonable efforts to enforce this AUP, but cannot catch everything.

13.3 Not Legal Advice

This AUP is not legal advice. Consult your own attorney regarding:

Your legal obligations
Risks of your activities
Compliance with applicable laws

14. ACKNOWLEDGMENT

By using our Services, you acknowledge that you have:

Read this Acceptable Use Policy
Understand its terms
Agree to comply with all provisions
Accept consequences for violations

If you do not agree:
Do not use our Services.

END OF ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

Effective Date: 15 April 2026
Version: 1.0
Last Updated: 15 April 2026

QUICK REFERENCE

✗ Never Allowed:

Child sexual abuse material
Terrorism/violent extremism
Illegal activity
Malware/hacking
Fraud/scams
Harassment/hate speech

⚠️ Restricted:

Adult content (platform not designed for this)
Graphic violence (context-dependent)
Misinformation (dangerous health/election claims)
Multiple accounts
API abuse

✓ Always Allowed:

Legitimate business use
News/educational content
Respectful disagreement
Ethical AI use
Responsible API use

Questions? legal@cognitiva.systems
Report Abuse: abuse@cognitiva.systems

← All legal documents