Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing polycreek.org, creating an account, or using the Aletheia API, you agree to these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you are entering into these Terms on behalf of an organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization.

You affirm that you are at least 18 years of age (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction) and have the legal capacity to enter into this agreement. The Services are not intended for use by children.

2. Services Overview

Polycreek is a nonprofit developing AI-powered technology to detect and prevent online child exploitation. The Services include this website and the Aletheia API, which applies machine learning to conversation data provided by customer organizations in order to score grooming and exploitation risk. The Services are intended to assist platforms, organizations, and authorities in protecting children. They do not replace active human oversight, parental involvement, or the independent judgment of trust-and-safety professionals or law enforcement.

3. User Responsibilities

When using the Services, you agree to:

• Provide accurate, current, and complete information when registering or requesting access.
• Use the Services only for their intended, lawful purpose.
• Comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and contractual obligations.
• Maintain the confidentiality of your account credentials and API keys, and notify Polycreek immediately of any suspected unauthorized access.

You will not:

• Use the Services for unlawful, fraudulent, deceptive, or malicious purposes.
• Submit or upload to the Services any content that is unlawful under the jurisdiction from which it originates or under US federal law.
• Attempt to reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise derive the source code or underlying models of the Services.
• Interfere with, disrupt, or circumvent security or rate-limiting features of the Services.
• Resell, sublicense, or redistribute the Services without Polycreek's prior written consent.
• Use the Services to train competing models or to build a substantially similar detection service.

4. Account Registration and Security

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activities conducted under your account or via any API key issued to you. Notify Polycreek immediately at contact@polycreek.org if you suspect unauthorized access. Polycreek is not liable for any loss arising from your failure to secure your credentials.

5. Privacy and Data Use

Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal data across both the website and the Aletheia API. By using the Services, you agree to the collection, use, and storage of data as described there. We do not sell personal data, we do not run third-party advertising on Polycreek properties, and Aletheia is engineered so that conversation content submitted to the API is scored in memory and discarded — never stored.

6. Intellectual Property

All intellectual property rights in the Services — including software, models, trademarks, logos, documentation, and content — are owned by Polycreek or its licensors. You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, or create derivative works of any part of the Services without our prior written consent, except as expressly permitted by these Terms or applicable law (e.g., fair use for journalism, research, or commentary). Use of our logos and press-kit assets is governed by the press kit guidelines.

Aletheia API-Specific Terms

7. Access, Beta Status, and Pricing

The Aletheia API is currently in closed beta. Access is provisioned on a per-organization basis after review. Two tiers are generally available: a per-request Standard tier for low-volume integrations and an annual Enterprise subscription for platforms integrating at scale. Pricing, volume commitments, and any SLAs are governed by the specific written order form or Master Services Agreement executed with a given customer.

Paid Services: accurate payment information is required; you authorize Polycreek to charge your payment method for fees due and to pursue reasonable collection on unpaid invoices. Usage fees are non-refundable except where required by law or by written agreement. Polycreek is a nonprofit, and pricing reflects operational cost, not profit.

8. CSAM and Reporting

Polycreek is a registered reporter under 18 U.S.C. § 2258A. If the Aletheia API or our human-review process identifies content that appears to depict child sexual abuse or exploitation, Polycreek will report the content to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) as required by law, regardless of the customer's preferences. Customers may not use the Services to transmit known CSAM, but submission of content that nonetheless contains illegal material does not waive Polycreek's reporting obligations.

9. Data Processing

For enterprise customers, a written Data Processing Agreement (DPA) supplements these Terms and defines each party's role under applicable privacy law. Where no DPA is in place, Part B of the Privacy Policy controls.

10. Disclaimers

No guarantee of complete protection. While the Services are designed to improve detection of online child exploitation, no automated system can guarantee 100% identification of every threat. Human oversight and ongoing supervision remain essential.

As-is basis. The Services are provided "as-is" and "as-available," without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, and non-infringement, to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Third-party content. Polycreek is not responsible for the content of third-party websites or services accessed via the Services.

11. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, in no event will Polycreek, its directors, officers, employees, contractors, or affiliates be liable for:

• Indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages; or
• Loss of data, revenue, profits, goodwill, or business opportunity,

even if advised of the possibility of such damages. Polycreek's aggregate liability for all claims arising out of or relating to the Services will not exceed the greater of (a) one hundred US dollars (US$100) or (b) the fees you paid Polycreek in the twelve (12) months preceding the event giving rise to the claim. This limitation applies to all theories of liability, including contract, tort, strict liability, and statute, and survives termination of these Terms.

12. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Polycreek, its directors, officers, employees, contractors, and affiliates from any claim, demand, loss, liability, or expense (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of (i) your breach of these Terms, (ii) your misuse of the Services, (iii) your violation of any law or the rights of any third party, or (iv) content you submit to the Services that violates these Terms.

13. Termination

Polycreek may suspend or terminate your access to the Services — immediately and without prior notice — if you violate these Terms, if we suspect fraudulent, abusive, or unauthorized activity, if required by law, or if your use of the Services threatens the integrity or security of the Services or of other users. You may terminate your account at any time by emailing contact@polycreek.org. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination (including Sections 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, and 15) will survive.

14. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Colorado and the laws of the United States of America, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles.

Informal resolution first. Before filing any claim, the parties agree to engage in good-faith negotiation for at least thirty (30) days. If unresolved, the parties will submit the dispute to confidential, non-binding mediation in Denver County, Colorado, with a mutually agreed mediator. Each party bears its own mediation costs unless the mediator determines otherwise. If one party pursues litigation without first attempting mediation, the prevailing party in any subsequent dispute is entitled to recover its reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.

Venue. If a dispute is not resolved through negotiation or mediation, it will be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Denver County, Colorado, and each party consents to personal jurisdiction there.

No class actions. Claims must be brought in an individual capacity; class, consolidated, or representative actions are not permitted.

15. DMCA / Copyright

Polycreek respects intellectual property rights. If you believe content on polycreek.org infringes your copyright, send a written notice to our designated agent including: (i) a signature (physical or electronic) of the copyright owner or authorized agent; (ii) identification of the copyrighted work; (iii) identification of the allegedly infringing material and its location on the Services; (iv) your contact information; (v) a statement of good-faith belief that the use is not authorized; and (vi) a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the notice is accurate and you are authorized to act. Send DMCA notices to contact@polycreek.org with the subject line "DMCA Notice."

16. Changes to These Terms

We may modify these Terms at any time. Material changes will be announced on this page and, for registered users, by email. Your continued use of the Services after the effective date of changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

17. Miscellaneous

These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and Polycreek regarding the Services and supersede prior agreements, except where a separately signed order form or DPA expressly controls. If any provision is held unenforceable, the remainder remains in effect. Our failure to enforce any right does not waive that right. You may not assign these Terms without our written consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or reorganization.

18. Contact

• Email: contact@polycreek.org
• Mail: Polycreek, 1905 Sherman Street, Suite 200, Denver, CO 80203, United States