1.1 What are “terms of use”?

Also known as “terms and conditions” or “terms of service,” they’re the rules that the user must agree to in order to use a platform. Terms of use constitute a legally binding document that describes your expectations toward users as well as your obligations as an operator. In most cases, the document is not required by law; however, it helps release you of certain liabilities, thus protecting your company from potential litigation.

1.2 What must terms of use include?

While their content will vary based on the features offered by the platform, terms of use normally cover the following:

• User rights and responsibilities
• Operator rights and responsibilities
• A link to your privacy policy
• Your policy regarding cookies and other tracking tools
• Intellectual property on your platform
• Procedures in the event of changes to your terms of use

Participatory platforms must address user-generated content in their terms of use, while paid services must provide information about their market activities. For more information, see our recommendations.

1.3 Where should terms of use be posted?

In general, terms of use are posted in the same place as the privacy policy, i.e. at the bottom of each web page (for a website) or in the descriptive text on the app’s home page. You can also post them in the parents’ section.

While legally required in the European Union and France, terms of use are not required by law in Canada, United States or Australia.

EUROPEAN UNION & FRANCE

The Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications (also known as the E-Privacy Directive) (European Union) and the Loi pour la confiance dans l’économie numérique (Law for Trust in the Digital Economy) require a “legal notice” whose purpose is to inform the user about the platform’s operator.Legal notices must be accessible from the home page and include:

• Company information and coordinates (name, legal form, business addressor registered office, email address, telephone number)
• Person responsible forpublication
• Web host’s contact details: name, denominationor company name,address andtelephone number
• France: CNIL simplified declaration number for the collection of personal information
• Cookie policy

Various other conditions apply to commercial sites. Consult France’s civil service website for more information:

• Official French civil service website: Quelles sont les mentions obligatoires pour un site web? (in French only)

• Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications

App stores do not require mobile applications to post terms of use.

The leading Canadian self-regulatory bodies make no mention of terms of use.

• While terms of use are not obliged by law in Canada, United States and Australia, we strongly recommend all platforms to draft terms of use adapted to their product or service, since they constitute valuable legal protection for your company.
• Terms of use are an important legal document that must be adapted to each product in order to protect your company: consult a lawyer.

• For non-participatory platforms: in the interests of making browsing easier, your terms of use can be worded so as to have users implicitly accept them without being obliged to perform a specific action like checking a box or clicking “Accept.” For example:

Use of this platform is contingent upon compliance with these terms of use. By accessing, browsing and/or using this platform, you acknowledge having read the terms of use and agree to comply with them as well as abide by the applicable laws and regulations.

• As far as possible, present your terms of use in language that can be easily understood by your readers or their parents.

• Terms of use normally include the following:
• Contact information of the company responsible for the platform
• User rights and responsibilities
• Operator rights and responsibilities (personal data protection and security measures, limitation of legal liability, etc.)
• System requirements
• Description of your use of cookies and other tracking tools
• A link to your privacy policy
• Intellectual property on your platform (your own content, third-party content licenses, etc.)
• The applicable laws in the event of litigation (e.g. “These terms of use are governed by federal Canadian legislation and applicable provincial statutes”)
• Your contest management policy, if applicable
• Date of most recent update and terms of use version number (e.g. “Version 2.4. Last updated: June 12, 2015”)
• Procedure in the event of changes to the terms of use (e.g. “Should these terms of use be amended, users will be notified of the new terms within 10 working days of their coming into effect”)

• In the interests of transparency, make all previous versions of your terms of use accessible to users.

• For participatory platforms, participation can be made contingent upon compliance with the terms of use. For example, during the account creation process, post a dialogue box with a statement to be checked, such as “I have read and accept the terms of use.” This is a precaution that can help prevent certain kinds of violations.

• The terms of use of a participatory platform must include:
• A reminder of the rules of conduct between users as well as what constitutes “unacceptable” content (e.g. “Content should not be illegal, obscene, defamatory, threatening, infringe upon intellectual property rights, violate privacy or be otherwise injurious or objectionable”)
• A link to your digital code of conduct
• A request for license to use content (e.g. “By sharing the content on this platform, you grant [company name] license to…”)
• A legal disclaimer expressing disaffiliation with content (e.g. “Despite our efforts to moderate the content posted on this site, we do not endorse any statements made by our users”)
• An arrangement through which you reserve the right to terminate a user’s account, remove any content displayed through that account and restrict that user’s access to the platform