App Terms and Conditions: Acceptable Use and Prohibited Use Clause

Your App Terms and Conditions outline how app users can use your App as well as your expectations about their behaviour when using it.

Prohibited Behaviour

Typical obligations included in this clause prohibit the user engaging in the following behaviour:

• any unlawful acts including harassing or stalking other users,
• hacking or interfering with the app in any way,
• infecting the app with any viruses,
• encouraging others to use the app to undertake illegal activity,
• attempting to access the app or circumvent the computer security systems,
• breaching the app Terms and Conditions or additional Terms that you have set out in your App, or
• breaching any other third party rights.

Prohibited Content

Your App Terms and Conditions should address the content that users cannot upload to your App or publish via your App. This includes:

• content that infringes third party rights or other rights,
• content that spams other users,
• defamatory or offensive behaviour or content,
• threatening or violent behaviour or content, or
• hate speak or harassment.

Your terms should also address that users when using your content require permission to use any information or intellectual property you have provided through their App use. It should further set out that you reserve the right to terminate particular accounts, and also remove particular content.

Additional Prohibitions

Depending on your App’s nature and function, your terms may also include additional requirements. For example, you may seek to prohibit commercial use of your App. If your App is a marketplace, you should have in place a set of obligations around how users can interact in the App. Additionally, you may choose to address the type of content that is permissible.

Imposing Age Limits for User Access

Depending on the app’s function, a user’s age may be a factor determining what prohibited content you can include (for example, can people under 18 use the App?). You may not necessarily have complete control over defining age restrictions on your users. This is because external parties, such as Apple, have been known to intervene and increase the age limit where there have been concerns about content. For example, content on video-sharing service Vine was considered too adult and for mature audiences, and as a result, the age limit was increased.

When drafting your app Terms and Conditions, it is very important to consider the behaviour and activities that you would like to prohibit on your App as well as the age limit for your App users. You should also keep in mind the particular issues associated with your App. For example, the level of interactivity that your users will have.

Conclusion

LegalVision’s lawyers have extensive experience advising on complicated apps and marketplaces. We would be delighted to assist you with drafting your app Terms and Conditions to protect yourself, and your business. Should you have any questions, please get in touch with us today on 1300 544 755 and speak with one of our experienced IT lawyers.

You may also find the following articles on App Terms and Conditions relevant:

• App Terms and Conditions: Disclaimers and Liability Clause
• App Terms and Conditions: User Information, Privacy and Security Clause
• App Terms and Conditions: User Warranties, Payments Clause
• App Terms and Conditions: Acceptance, Eligibility and Additional Term Clause
• App Terms and Conditions: Copyright and Intellectual Property