Acceptable Use Policy

Effective date: 2026-06-10 (draft — not yet in force; pending attorney review)

1. What this policy is

This Acceptable Use Policy is part of the Terms of Service for OwnTongue, the live speech translation service operated by OwnTongue LLC [REVIEW: exact registered name + state TBD]. It binds account holders directly; account holders are responsible for the conduct of their sessions, including how join codes are shared and how audience members use them.

2. Use the service lawfully

Use OwnTongue only in compliance with applicable law. Do not use it to violate anyone's rights or to facilitate illegal activity.

3. Prohibited content

Do not use OwnTongue to broadcast:

• harassment, threats, or content intended to intimidate or abuse a person or group;
• hateful content that attacks people based on protected characteristics;
• content that is illegal to distribute, or that promotes illegal acts.

OwnTongue translates what is spoken at your event; you are responsible for what your sessions broadcast.

4. Prohibited conduct

• Do not attempt to bypass plan quotas, usage metering, or billing.
• Do not probe, scan, or test the security of the service, attempt to access other users' data or sessions, or interfere with the service's operation.
• Do not share join codes in a way designed to disrupt a session you do not run.
• Do not resell, sublicense, or operate the service for third parties as a service bureau without a written agreement with us.
• Do not scrape or systematically extract caption streams beyond your own session's intended audience use.
• Do not use the service covertly. Running a session to transcribe or translate people who do not know a transcription service is in use — eavesdropping, surveillance, or monitoring without notice — is prohibited regardless of whether the law in your state would otherwise allow it.

5. Speaker notice and consent

As the presenter, you are responsible for providing any notice and obtaining any consent required by law to transcribe and translate the people who speak at your event. Laws on recording and intercepting speech vary by state, and some require the consent of every party. A simple announcement that live captioning/translation is in use is good practice at any event. Remember that OwnTongue never stores audio — but transcription itself may still require notice or consent where you are.

6. Enforcement

1. If we believe this policy has been violated, we may warn the account holder, end a live session, or suspend or terminate the account, depending on severity.
2. Where practical, we will notify you and give you a chance to correct the problem first. For serious harm, illegal content, or security attacks we may act immediately.
3. We may report illegal activity to law enforcement where appropriate.

7. Reporting violations

To report a violation of this policy, email legal@owntongue.com with the session details and what you observed.

8. Contact

Questions about this policy: legal@owntongue.com.
Mailing address: [REVIEW: mailing address TBD].