Acceptable Use Policy

Effective Date: [TO BE SET ON PUBLICATION] Version: 0.9 (draft) Last Updated: 17 May 2026

1. Purpose

This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") sets out the rules of conduct for use of the ABC — Alumni Benefit Community Platform at [abc-community.org]. It is incorporated into and forms part of our Terms of Service. Breach of this AUP is a breach of the Terms of Service and may result in suspension or termination of your account.

ABC is a member community. The principles below are not exhaustive — they describe the spirit and the floor, not the ceiling. Use good judgement and remember that there are other people on the other side of every message.

2. Principles

When you use the Platform, you agree to:

Be honest about who you are.
Treat other members with respect.
Respect other people's rights and privacy.
Comply with the law, including the law of Egypt and any other jurisdiction whose laws apply to your conduct.
Use the Platform for the purposes for which it is provided — networking, careers, knowledge, marketplace, and community governance among AUC alumni.

3. Prohibited Content

You may not post, share, host, link to, or distribute through the Platform any content that:

3.1 Is unlawful

Violates Egyptian law, including the Egyptian Penal Code, the Egyptian Cybercrime Law No. 175/2018, the Egyptian Telecommunications Law, the Egyptian Anti-Terrorism Law No. 94/2015, or the Egyptian Personal Data Protection Law No. 151/2020.
Violates the laws of your jurisdiction or the jurisdiction of other affected members.
Constitutes child sexual abuse material (CSAM). ABC reports all CSAM to relevant authorities without notice to the offending member and preserves all relevant data for law-enforcement purposes.
Promotes, glorifies, finances, or facilitates terrorism, violent extremism, organised crime, or human trafficking.
Promotes, distributes, or solicits illegal goods or services, including narcotics, unlicensed prescription medicines, unlicensed firearms, counterfeit goods, or stolen property.

3.2 Harms other people

Threatens, harasses, stalks, intimidates, or abuses any person.
Doxxes (publishes private personal information about) any person without their consent.
Constitutes defamation, libel, or slander.
Incites violence, hatred, or discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, or any other protected characteristic.
Sexually exploits or objectifies any person.
Impersonates any person, including other members, AUC staff, ABC staff, or public figures.

3.3 Infringes rights

Infringes any third party's intellectual property rights (copyright, trademark, trade secret, patent, design right, or moral right).
Discloses personal data of any person without lawful basis under PDPL or GDPR.
Discloses confidential information you are not authorised to share.

3.4 Is technically harmful

Contains viruses, worms, trojans, ransomware, spyware, or other malicious code.
Is designed to disrupt, damage, or limit the functioning of the Platform, the device of any user, or any connected system.
Attempts to access systems or data you are not authorised to access.

3.5 Misrepresents AUC affiliation

Falsely claims AUC affiliation or AUC sponsorship of any product, service, or activity.
Misuses the AUC name, logo, or trademarks in a way that suggests endorsement.
Holds you out as a representative of AUC unless you are one and are acting in that capacity.

4. Prohibited Conduct

You may not, on or through the Platform:

4.1 Spam, scrape, and bulk-message

Send unsolicited bulk messages, friend or connection requests, or promotional content.
Scrape, copy, mirror, or systematically extract data from the Platform, including the member directory, listings, posts, comments, or any other content, by any means including automated scripts, crawlers, or screen-readers, except where expressly authorised by ABC in writing.
Build a list, mailing database, or competing service from data obtained from the Platform.
Reverse-engineer any part of the Platform.

4.2 Solicit outside the Marketplace

Use the Platform for commercial solicitation outside the Marketplace, Vetted Services Directory, and Jobs Board.
Promote your business through unsolicited direct messages to other members.
Run pyramid schemes, multi-level marketing recruitment, get-rich-quick schemes, or chain communications.

4.3 Misrepresent yourself

Create an account using another person's identity or AUC credentials.
Create more than one account per person without ABC's prior written consent.
Buy, sell, or transfer accounts.
Provide false information during registration, verification, or use of the Platform.

4.4 Manipulate the Platform

Manipulate endorsements, ratings, or rankings, including by coordinated voting, fake accounts, or paid endorsements.
Inflate listing visibility through prohibited means.
Interfere with any other member's enjoyment of the Platform.

4.5 Use bots or automation

Use bots, scripts, or automated tools to interact with the Platform, including for sign-up, content posting, browsing, messaging, voting, or any other action, except where ABC has expressly authorised it.
Reverse the verification process or attempt to bypass verification controls.

5. Marketplace Conduct

In addition to the rules above, when using the Marketplace:

Only list items you have the right to sell, rent, or transfer.
Describe items accurately, including condition, defects, and material restrictions.
Comply with all applicable laws, including the Egyptian Consumer Protection Law No. 181/2018, tax laws, tourism and rental licensing laws for short-stay listings, and import/export laws.
Do not list prohibited categories (illegal goods, weapons, narcotics, regulated medical products without proper licensing, live animals where prohibited, counterfeit goods, or items in breach of cultural-heritage protection laws).
Honour your commitments to other members.

6. Vetted Services Directory Conduct

For listed professionals in the Vetted Services Directory:

Maintain your professional licence and good standing with your regulator (for example, the Egyptian Medical Syndicate or the Egyptian Bar Association).
Self-certify your qualifications annually as prompted by ABC.
Disclose conflicts of interest to members who consult you.
Comply with your profession's advertising, fee, and referral rules.
Do not offer to pay or receive referral fees for engagements obtained through the Platform unless permitted by your professional rules.

For members consulting listed professionals:

ABC has verified the professional's AUC alumni status only. ABC has not verified their professional competence.
Verify the professional's current licensure and qualifications with the relevant regulator before engaging them.
Treat the engagement as you would any independent professional engagement — your relationship is with the professional, not with ABC.

7. Jobs Board Conduct

For all job postings:

Be accurate about the role, employer, location, compensation range (where given), and qualifications.
Comply with the Egyptian Labour Law No. 12/2003 and all applicable employment, immigration, work-permit, and anti-discrimination laws.
Do not post discriminatory requirements (for example, requirements based on gender, religion, or marital status that are not legally permitted under applicable law).
Do not solicit fees, deposits, or training payments from candidates.

For proxy job postings (job listings posted on behalf of a third-party hiring entity, including a family member's company or a friend's business):

Disclose the principal — name the actual hiring entity in the listing.
Disclose your relationship to the principal.
Confirm in the listing that you have the principal's authorisation to post.

8. Privacy and Communications

Do not share or publish another member's personal data without their consent.
Do not record video, audio, or screen captures of private interactions on the Platform without the other party's consent.
Treat direct messages as private correspondence. Publishing or sharing private correspondence without consent may constitute a breach of Egyptian PDPL and other privacy laws.
Do not use information obtained from the Platform to harass, stalk, dox, or otherwise harm another member.
Marketing communications between members must be invited or opt-in. The Platform's commercial features (Marketplace, Vetted Services Directory, Jobs Board) are the permitted channels for commercial offers.

9. Reporting Violations

If you become aware of any breach of this AUP, please report it:

In-app: use the "Report" button on any profile, listing, post, or message.
By email: [trust@abc-community.org]
Urgent safety issues (threats of violence, CSAM, imminent harm): mark the email "URGENT — SAFETY".

We do not take retaliatory action against members who report violations in good faith.

10. Enforcement

10.1 Our response

We aim to respond to reports as follows:

Category	Target response time
Unlawful content (CSAM, terrorism, credible threats of violence)	Removed within 24 hours and reported to authorities
Doxxing, severe harassment, impersonation	Acted on within 24 hours
Other AUP breaches	Acted on within 72 hours
Spam, scraping, automated abuse	Acted on as soon as detected

Response times are targets, not guarantees, and depend on factors including report volume and complexity.

10.2 Sanctions

Depending on the severity, history, and context, our response may include any of:

A private warning.
Removal or restriction of specific content.
Temporary suspension of features (for example, messaging or marketplace listing).
Account suspension for a defined period.
Permanent account termination.
Referral to relevant authorities, including law enforcement and regulators.
Civil legal action.

Severe breaches (CSAM, credible threats of violence, doxxing, coordinated abuse, fraud) typically result in immediate permanent termination.

10.3 Appeals

You may appeal an enforcement decision by emailing [appeals@abc-community.org] within 30 days. Appeals are reviewed by someone other than the original decision-maker, where practicable. Appeal decisions are recorded but not all appeal correspondence will be made public.

10.4 Public moderation audit log

ABC maintains a public moderation audit log at [/moderation/audit-log] that records moderation actions in anonymised form for accountability. We do not publish the identities of reporters or reported members.

10.5 Cooperation with authorities

ABC cooperates with valid legal requests in accordance with the Terms of Service and applicable law, including the Egyptian Cybercrime Law No. 175/2018, which imposes log-retention and cooperation obligations.

11. Volunteer Moderators

Volunteer moderators of sub-communities have delegated authority to enforce this AUP within their sub-community. Their decisions can be escalated to ABC. ABC retains the final decision.

Volunteer moderators are themselves bound by this AUP and may have their volunteer status revoked for breach.

12. ABC's Discretion

ABC reserves the right to:

Remove, edit, or restrict access to any content for any reason consistent with these Terms, applicable law, or our community values.
Suspend or terminate any account for breach of this AUP or for conduct that poses a risk to other members or to ABC.
Refuse service to anyone for any lawful reason.
Change this AUP from time to time (see Section 14).

Failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of our right to enforce it later.

13. Examples of What Is and Is Not Allowed

These examples are illustrative, not exhaustive.

Generally allowed:

Posting a job at the company you work for, clearly identifying the employer.
Listing a flat for short-term rental, provided the listing complies with applicable tourism and licensing rules.
Asking for or giving professional advice in the Q&A or Knowledge surface.
Endorsing another member for skills you have direct experience of.
Reaching out to another member for a one-to-one networking conversation related to your career, study, or community interest.

Generally not allowed:

Sending the same promotional message to a list of members.
Listing a service you are not qualified or licensed to provide.
Recommending a member for skills you have not seen.
Reposting another member's private message publicly.
Creating a second account to influence votes, endorsements, or rankings.
Using a scraping tool to download the member directory.
Posting a job listing for "your cousin's startup" without saying it is for your cousin's startup.

14. Changes to This AUP

We may change this AUP from time to time. Material changes (significantly broadening prohibited conduct, materially changing sanctions, or affecting your appeal rights) will be notified by email and an in-app banner at least 30 days before they take effect. Non-material changes (clarifications, examples, restructuring) will be published with the updated effective date.

A version history is available at [/acceptable-use-policy/versions].

15. Contact

Reason	Contact
Report a violation	In-app "Report" button or [trust@abc-community.org]
Urgent safety report	[trust@abc-community.org] marked "URGENT — SAFETY"
Appeal an enforcement decision	[appeals@abc-community.org]
General questions	[hello@abc-community.org]

This document is a Phase 1 draft pending review by Egyptian counsel.