Being an active user, charging up to $ 100 when you die, giving up your content, disclosing secrets, not giving false information … These are terms that, although most don’t know, the users of the latest fashionable social network accept , Club House.
The voice social network has become very popular in recent months, with two million downloads, recently arrived in Spain and currently only available for iOS. With its format, it has even caught the attention of other social networks that have imitated it, such as Twitter, with its Spaces.
According to ProPrivacy.com, between 90 and 99 percent of users do not read the terms of use or privacy policies of the tools they use, and with the advent of new social networks, such as Clubhouse, they often cause controversy and confusion within the community.
The fashion app has already had to revise and update its privacy policy and terms of service due to the doubts raised by how and where users’ data and conversations are stored, which the Chinese government had access to.
Aside from the location of the servers, they remember from Spanish digital development consultancy Syntonize that it’s important to know the legal implications one accepts every time an app is downloaded.
“The focus is usually on data protection, but the simple fact that you have to go to court in California or Miami for agreeing to litigate there can be a huge expense for an individual or a company, just in terms of accommodation and transportation ”, warns Juan Quintanilla, CEO of Syntonize.
From the consulting firm, they discuss some of the legal curiosities accepted by users chatting in Clubhouse, owned by Alpha Exploration Co.
CONTINUING TO USE THE APP MEANS YOU ACCEPT NEW TERMS AND CONDITIONS
The first is that people accept new clubhouse terms without being notified. Since November 2 last year, when the terms of service were updated, users agree to temporarily record their audio, at least for the duration of the call.
This update will only be communicated on the Internet and users will only accept it because they will continue to use the service, even if they are not aware of the changes. The same happens with a possible rate change, which the app can communicate on the Internet or in the user’s email 15 days in advance. If you continue to use the app, the new rate will be accepted.
MINORS AND ACTIVE USERS ONLY
Clubhouse sets certain conditions to enable its use. The first is that it can only be used by people over 18, over the age required by other platforms (in Spain, for example, it’s 14 years old on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube).
The second is that people should actively use the social network. This reserves the right to paralyze or suspend the service without notifying the subscriber or canceling the accounts of those users who are inactive for an extended period of time without specifying how many.
Clubhouse also does not allow people to use the platform to provide false information or run competitions. Users cannot use the app to send viruses, spam, chain letters, pyramid schemes, surveys, contests or raffles, among other things.
They must also not use language that is harmful, threatening, insulting, intimidating, criminal, excessively violent, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, pornographic, defamatory, invading another’s privacy, or inciting racial or ethnic hatred. And to avoid hoaxes and ‘fake news’, do not give false information. These conditions are common in today’s social networks.
SECRETS IN CLUBHOUSE
Clubhouse also has other conditions regarding secrets. The platform requires written permission from all members of the conversation to record some of it and information cannot be shared outside the clubhouse when the speaker has explicitly said the conversation is ‘off the record’.
In the Community Use Guide, the application states that the information obtained in Clubhouse cannot be transcribed, recorded, reproduced or shared without the corresponding permission.
However, Clubhouse is free to use your content. By uploading content to Clubhouse, the user grants the company and its affiliates a worldwide, royalty-free, transferable, sublicensable, perpetual and irrevocable license to use the content uploaded to the network at any time without payment and on an ongoing basis for the promotion, advertising or marketing of the service in any current form, medium or technology or to be developed in the future.
Despite this, the company asks users to ensure the protection of intellectual property.
MAXIMUM 100 DOLLARS PER DEATH
In another of the most curious sections of the Clubhouse Policy, the user releases the company and its affiliates from damages, expenses, actions of any kind and injuries, including death, arising out of the use of the service or for the violation of the conditions of maintenance.
The platform warns that in the event of compensation, it will not pay more than what the user has paid in the last six months, or a maximum of $ 100.
Clubhouse users authorize the company to analyze their activity, which is also common on social networks. The company reserves the right to collect information about how a user uses the service, the types of conversations they participate in, the content they share, the features they use, the actions they take, the people or accounts they interact with. communicate and the time, frequency and duration of use.
Finally, another important aspect is that Clubhouse, born in the United States, refers any dispute related to the Terms of Service and the Privacy Terms to the arbitration of the American Arbitration Association and to the courts of San Francisco (United States) for all other litigation .
The company that owns agrees to agree to an arbitration right to suit both parties as, in the case of claims less than $ 10,000, the hearing will be by phone or in person, as the user chooses.
However, the claim and its possible redress (including monetary compensation, based on a court order and statement) can only be individual.
As with the rest of the most commonly used applications, ignoring the “ fine print ” of the terms of use allows for non-compliance, but generally the rules are similar in all respects. For this reason, it is recommended by Syntonize to use any application wisely and it is reminded that the information shared in it usually becomes the property of the manufacturer.