Acceptable Use Policy

This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") defines prohibited uses of Scribbin's services and establishes guidelines for appropriate conduct. By using Scribbin, you agree to comply with this policy in addition to our Terms of Service.

1. Prohibited Content

You may not create, upload, generate, or distribute content that:

1.1 Child Safety Violations

• Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM): Any sexualized content involving or depicting minors, real or fictional
• Child Exploitation: Content that exploits, endangers, or harms children in any way
• Age-Inappropriate Content: Sexually explicit material, graphic violence, or adult themes intended for children's viewing
• Grooming or Predatory Behavior: Content designed to manipulate, deceive, or endanger children
• Personal Information of Minors: Sharing identifiable information about real children without proper consent

1.2 Illegal Content

• Criminal Activity: Content that promotes, facilitates, or depicts illegal activities
• Terrorism or Violent Extremism: Content promoting terrorist organizations or violent extremist ideologies
• Human Trafficking: Content related to human trafficking or exploitation
• Illegal Drugs: Content promoting the production, distribution, or use of illegal controlled substances
• Weapons: Detailed instructions for creating weapons, explosives, or other dangerous items
• Fraud or Scams: Content designed to defraud or deceive others

1.3 Harmful or Dangerous Content

• Violence and Gore: Graphic depictions of violence, blood, injury, or death
• Self-Harm: Content promoting suicide, self-injury, eating disorders, or other self-destructive behaviors
• Dangerous Challenges: Content encouraging children to engage in harmful activities or "challenges"
• Misinformation: Deliberately false information about health, safety, or emergencies that could cause harm
• Animal Cruelty: Content depicting or promoting abuse or cruelty to animals

1.4 Hate Speech and Discrimination

• Hate Speech: Content attacking individuals or groups based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, or other protected characteristics
• Slurs and Derogatory Language: Use of slurs, epithets, or derogatory terms targeting protected groups
• Supremacist Content: Content promoting white supremacy, nazism, or other supremacist ideologies
• Discrimination: Content that discriminates against or demeans individuals or groups

1.5 Sexual or Adult Content

• Pornography: Sexually explicit content, nudity, or pornographic material
• Sexual Services: Content promoting prostitution, escort services, or sexual trafficking
• Fetish Content: Sexual fetish content, even if not explicitly pornographic
• Suggestive Content: Sexually suggestive content that, while not explicit, is inappropriate for a children's platform

1.6 Harassment and Bullying

• Targeted Harassment: Content intended to harass, threaten, intimidate, or bully specific individuals
• Doxxing: Publishing private personal information without consent
• Impersonation: Pretending to be another person, business, or entity to deceive or harm
• Cyberbullying: Using the platform to cyberbully children or others

1.7 Intellectual Property Violations

• Copyright Infringement: Using copyrighted text, images, or characters without permission
• Trademark Violations: Unauthorized use of trademarks or brand names
• Plagiarism: Copying or reproducing others' creative works as your own
• Licensed Characters: Creating stories featuring copyrighted characters (Disney, Marvel, etc.) without authorization

2. Prohibited Activities

You may not engage in the following activities:

2.1 Platform Abuse

• Automated Access: Using bots, scripts, scrapers, or automated tools to access the service without permission
• Account Farming: Creating multiple accounts to abuse free trials, promotions, or circumvent bans
• System Manipulation: Attempting to manipulate or game our Story Token system, referral program, or other features
• API Abuse: Excessive or abusive use of our APIs beyond reasonable personal use

2.2 Security Violations

• Unauthorized Access: Attempting to access accounts, data, or systems you're not authorized to access
• Hacking or Exploits: Exploiting security vulnerabilities or bugs for any purpose
• Password Sharing: Sharing account credentials with unauthorized users
• Reverse Engineering: Attempting to reverse engineer, decompile, or extract source code from our platform
• Denial of Service: Conducting or facilitating attacks that disrupt service availability

2.3 Commercial Misuse

• Unauthorized Resale: Reselling AI-generated content, Story Tokens, or access to the service
• Mass Production: Using the service for large-scale commercial content generation beyond permitted use
• Competing Service: Building a competing service using our AI-generated content or platform
• Scraping for Training: Using our content to train competing AI models

2.4 Spam and Unwanted Contact

• Spam: Sending unsolicited messages, advertisements, or promotional content
• Phishing: Attempting to obtain sensitive information through deceptive means
• Malware Distribution: Distributing viruses, malware, or other harmful code

2.5 Payment Fraud

• Fraudulent Payments: Using stolen credit cards, fraudulent payment methods, or invalid payment information
• Chargeback Abuse: Filing fraudulent chargebacks or payment disputes
• Refund Fraud: Abusing our refund policy through false claims or deception
• Token Manipulation: Exploiting bugs to obtain free Story Tokens

3. Account Responsibilities

3.1 Account Security

You are responsible for:

• Maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials
• All activities conducted through your account, even if unauthorized
• Notifying us immediately of suspected unauthorized access
• Using strong, unique passwords
• Not sharing your account with others

3.2 Accurate Information

You must:

• Provide accurate and complete account registration information
• Keep your contact information (email, address) up to date
• Not create accounts under false identities
• Verify that you meet age requirements (18+, or 13-17 with parental consent)

3.3 One Account Per Person

Unless explicitly permitted:

• You may have only one Scribbin account
• Creating multiple accounts to evade bans or abuse promotions is prohibited
• Family members may each have their own account
• Contact us if you need multiple accounts for legitimate business purposes

4. Content Ownership and Licensing

4.1 Your Content Rights

You retain ownership of:

• Original text prompts and story outlines you create
• Images you upload (character references, etc.)
• Creative concepts and ideas you contribute

4.2 AI-Generated Content

For AI-generated stories and illustrations:

• You have the right to use content for personal, non-commercial purposes
• Content may not be eligible for copyright protection in some jurisdictions
• Similar content may be generated for other users with similar prompts
• You may print, share, and distribute stories for personal use
• Commercial use requires explicit permission (contact us for licensing)

4.3 License to Scribbin

By using the service, you grant Scribbin a license to:

• Store, display, and process your content to provide the service
• Use anonymized data to improve AI models and services
• Display your content in promotional materials (with your explicit opt-in consent only)
• Comply with legal obligations (e.g., responding to court orders)

5. Age-Appropriate Content Guidelines

While not strictly prohibited, we encourage users to follow these guidelines for creating age-appropriate content:

5.1 Recommended Practices

• ✓Positive themes: Friendship, kindness, courage, learning, and problem-solving
• ✓Age-appropriate conflict: Challenges that are relatable and not overly frightening
• ✓Diverse and inclusive: Represent a range of characters and perspectives positively
• ✓Educational value: Weave in learning opportunities where they fit
• ✓Happy resolutions: Stories that end on a positive or hopeful note

5.2 Discouraged Themes

These aren't banned, but they may be flagged for review:

• !Excessive scary or frightening content for young children
• !Negative stereotypes or outdated tropes
• !Overly dark or depressing themes
• !Realistic weapons or detailed combat
• !Death or grief (handle sensitively if the story needs it)

6. Third-Party AI Service Policies

Scribbin uses Google Gemini's services for story and image generation. You must also comply with their usage policies:

6.1 AI Usage Policies

Google Gemini prohibits:

• Illegal activity
• Child sexual abuse material
• Hateful, harassing, or violent content
• Malware generation
• Spam or fraudulent activity
• Adult content or adult industries
• Political campaigning or lobbying

6.2 Content Filtering

AI content filters may reject prompts that:

• Request prohibited content
• Attempt to bypass safety systems
• Use prompt injection or manipulation techniques
• Generate content violating their policies

Note: Rejected prompts do not consume Story Tokens, but repeated policy violations may result in account restrictions.

7. Reporting Violations

7.1 How to Report

If you encounter content or behavior violating this policy:

• Child safety concerns: safety@scribbin.com
• General policy or legal questions: hello@scribbin.com

7.2 False Reporting

Abusing the reporting system is prohibited:

• Filing false or malicious reports
• Reporting content solely because you disagree with it (not because it violates policy)
• Using reports to harass other users
• Mass reporting or coordinated reporting campaigns

Repeated false reporting may result in account suspension.

8. Enforcement and Penalties

8.1 Violation Severity Levels

We group violations into four levels, from most to least serious:

8.2 Enforcement Actions

Depending on violation severity:

1. Content Removal: Violating content is deleted immediately
2. Warning: Email notification explaining violation and consequences of repeat offenses
3. Temporary Suspension: Account access restricted for 7-30 days
4. Permanent Ban: Account permanently terminated, all content deleted
5. IP/Device Ban: Prevent creation of new accounts from same device/IP
6. Law Enforcement Report: Mandatory for CSAM, terrorism, credible threats
7. Legal Action: Pursue civil or criminal remedies for fraud, hacking, or other serious violations

8.3 Appeals Process

If you believe enforcement action was taken in error:

1. Submit Appeal: Email hello@scribbin.com within 30 days
2. Provide Context: Explain why you believe the decision was incorrect
3. Review: A different team member reviews your appeal
4. Decision: Final decision communicated within 5-7 business days

Note: Decisions involving child safety, illegal content, or security violations are typically not reversible.

9. Cooperation with Law Enforcement

We cooperate fully with law enforcement investigations and comply with legal obligations:

9.1 Mandatory Reporting

• Child sexual abuse material or child exploitation: reported to the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), the National Crime Agency's CEOP Command, and law enforcement
• Credible threats of violence: reported to the police and other appropriate authorities
• Terrorism or violent extremism: reported to the relevant authorities

9.2 Legal Requests

We respond to valid legal requests including:

• Subpoenas
• Court orders
• Search warrants
• National security letters (where applicable)

We may notify users of legal requests unless prohibited by law or court order.

10. International Compliance

Scribbin operates globally and complies with applicable laws in all jurisdictions:

10.1 Regional Content Restrictions

Some content may be restricted based on local laws:

• Content legal in one country may be prohibited in another
• We may implement geo-restrictions for compliance
• Users are responsible for knowing and following local laws

10.2 UK & EU Data Protection

• Handled under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 (and the EU GDPR for users in the EU/EEA)
• Rights to access, correct, delete, or export your personal data
• Transparency about how we use data, and consent where it's required

10.3 Other Regulations

• United States: COPPA — no collection from children under 13; CCPA privacy rights for California residents
• Australia: Australian Privacy Principles
• Canada: PIPEDA

11. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Acceptable Use Policy to:

• Address new types of prohibited content or activities
• Comply with changes in law or regulations
• Reflect changes in our services or features
• Improve clarity based on user feedback

Material changes will be communicated via:

• Email notification to account holders
• Prominent notice on our website
• Updated "Last Updated" date at top of this policy

Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact Information

For questions about this Acceptable Use Policy:

General & legal enquiries: hello@scribbin.com
Child safety concerns: safety@scribbin.com
Appeals: hello@scribbin.com
Website: https://scribbin.com