Acceptable Use Policy

Policy objective: [Outcome this policy governs]
Scope: [People, systems, locations, and activities covered]

1. Purpose, Scope, and Definitions

[Covered products, users, regions, terms cross-reference, and key definitions.]

2. Security and Access Rules

[Credential sharing, bypassing controls, malware, vulnerability testing authorization, and access logging.]

3. Illegal, Harmful, or Abusive Activity

[Fraud, harassment, threats, exploitation, regulated goods, illegal content, and emergency escalation.]

4. Content, Intellectual Property, and Privacy

[Infringement notice, privacy abuse, non-consensual data, impersonation, and content removal route.]

5. Automation, Resource Use, and Rate Limits

[Bots, scraping, bulk messaging, resource exhaustion, quotas, and approved integration path.]

6. Reporting Suspected Abuse

[Abuse-report form, required evidence, urgent channel, confidentiality, and reporter non-retaliation.]

7. Investigation and Evidence Handling

[Preservation, chain of custody, triage severity, user cooperation, and regulator or law-enforcement request.]

8. Enforcement and User Notice

[Warning, restriction, suspension, termination, emergency action, proportionality, and notice exceptions.]

9. Appeals and Restoration

[Appeal deadline, review owner, new evidence, restoration conditions, and final decision.]

10. Review and Contact

[Policy owner, review cadence, version, and contact.]

Exceptions, Enforcement, and Review

• Exception authority: [Role authorized to approve a documented exception]
• Required evidence: [Risk assessment, compensating control, owner, and expiry date]
• Enforcement: [Investigation and proportionate consequence process]
• Review trigger: [Scheduled cadence and events requiring an earlier review]

Implementation notice: Enforcement, speech, consumer, and sector rules vary by jurisdiction. Counsel should review prohibited-use language and notice obligations.