# Acceptable Use Policy

> What is not allowed on Lemma, and what happens if you do it.

Source: https://getlemma.io/legal/acceptable-use

What is not allowed on Lemma, and what happens if you do it.

Version 1.0 · In effect from 15 October 2026 · [Permanent link to this version](https://getlemma.io/legal/acceptable-use/2026-10-15)

## 1\. Purpose and scope

1.1 This Policy sets out what you may not do on Lemma. It forms part of the [**Terms of Service**](https://getlemma.io/legal/terms) (clause 1.4) and applies everywhere on the Platform: in Sessions, in messages, in your profile, in ratings, in User Content, and in any use of the Verification API.

1.2 The [**Community Guidelines**](https://getlemma.io/legal/community) explain the same standards in plain, everyday language and describe what good conduct looks like. This Policy is the enforceable rulebook; the Community Guidelines are the human explanation of it.

1.3 For each cluster below we state the likely enforcement consequence. Actual consequences depend on severity, intent, harm and history, and are decided under clause 12 of the **Terms of Service**. Nothing here limits us from acting more strictly, or more leniently, where the facts justify it.

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## 2\. Illegal content and conduct

2.1 You must not use Lemma to do anything unlawful under Cyprus law, EU law, or the law of a place your conduct affects, including offering or requesting illegal goods or services, facilitating an offence, or evading sanctions or export controls.

**Likely consequence:** immediate removal of the content, and account suspension or termination. Serious or repeated illegality is reported to law enforcement (**DSA Art. 18**).

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## 3\. Harassment, hate speech and threats

3.1 You must not harass, bully, stalk, threaten or intimidate another User, or target them with abuse based on a protected characteristic such as race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or age.

3.2 You must not incite violence or hatred against a person or group, or use slurs, degrading stereotypes or dehumanising language.

3.3 Robust disagreement, criticism of ideas, and honest negative feedback about a Session are not, by themselves, breaches of this clause. Directing that disagreement at a person's identity, or making it personal and abusive, is.

**Likely consequence:** first instance — warning and content removal; targeted threats or repeated harassment — feature restriction or suspension; severe or credible threats — immediate termination and, where there is a threat to life or safety, referral to the authorities under **DSA Art. 18**.

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## 4\. Sexual content and sexualisation of minors

4.1 You must not post, share or request sexually explicit content, or use a Session for a sexual purpose.

4.2 **Any sexualisation of a minor, real or fictional, in any form, is zero tolerance.** This includes suggestive content involving anyone who is or appears to be under 18, and grooming behaviour directed at a minor.

**Likely consequence:** immediate account termination without warning, preservation of evidence, and referral to the Cyprus Police and, where applicable, the relevant hotline and INHOPE network. We report suspected offences under **Arts. 3–7 of Directive 2011/93/EU** to the competent authorities without delay (**DSA Art. 18**).

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## 5\. Violent extremism

5.1 You must not use Lemma to promote, glorify, fund or recruit for terrorism or violent extremism, or to disseminate terrorist content within the meaning of **Regulation (EU) 2021/784**.

**Likely consequence:** immediate removal, immediate account termination, and referral to law enforcement (**DSA Art. 18**).

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## 6\. Fraud, scams and impersonation

6.1 You must not defraud another User, misrepresent your identity, qualifications or affiliation, impersonate another person or organisation, run a payment scam, or manipulate a Session or a review for financial gain through deception.

6.2 You must not use stolen payment details, chargeback fraud, or promotional-credit abuse (creating accounts to claim signup incentives repeatedly).

**Likely consequence:** account suspension pending investigation; confirmed fraud results in termination, reversal of the gain where possible, and referral to Stripe and, where the amounts or conduct warrant it, law enforcement.

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## 7\. Spam and unsolicited commercial messaging

7.1 You must not send unsolicited commercial messages, bulk-message Users you don't know, advertise unrelated products or services on Lemma, or repeatedly post the same content across profiles, ratings or messages.

**Likely consequence:** warning and removal for a first, low-harm instance; feature restriction (e.g. messaging limits) for repeat conduct; suspension for persistent or high-volume spam.

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## 8\. Malware, scraping and unauthorised technical access

8.1 You must not introduce malware, viruses or harmful code to the Platform.

8.2 You must not scrape, crawl, harvest or bulk-extract Platform data — including profiles, Skill Passports, ratings or assessment content — other than through the **Verification API** under a licence.

8.3 You must not reverse engineer, decompile or attempt to derive the source code of the Platform, except to the extent mandatory law permits despite a contractual restriction.

8.4 You must not evade or attempt to evade rate limits, security controls, or access restrictions, or use automated means (bots, scripts) to interact with the Platform other than through a documented, authorised API.

8.5 You must not probe, scan or test the Platform's security other than through our vulnerability disclosure process at [security@getlemma.io](mailto:security@getlemma.io).

**Likely consequence:** immediate suspension of API or account access, removal of extracted data where feasible, and — for malicious or large-scale conduct — termination and referral to law enforcement or civil action.

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## 9\. Circumventing Platform fees

9.1 You must not use a Session, a message, or contact details exchanged on Lemma to arrange future paid teaching off-platform in order to avoid Platform fees or Learning Credits. This applies to both Learners and Practitioners.

9.2 This does not prohibit a personal or professional relationship formed independently of Lemma; it prohibits using Lemma as the introduction and then routing payment around it.

**Likely consequence:** a warning for a first instance; feature restriction or suspension for repeated or organised circumvention; a Practitioner who systematically diverts Learners off-platform faces termination.

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## 10\. Manipulation of the Skill Credibility Index

10.1 The SCI is only useful if it can be trusted. You must not:

10.1.1 manufacture, inflate or fabricate **Evidence Events**, including booking Sessions that do not genuinely take place, or using automation to simulate activity;

10.1.2 engage in **collusive ratings** — trading, buying, selling, or reciprocally inflating ratings, or coordinating ratings with others (including through outside forums or group chats);

10.1.3 run **reciprocal fake Sessions** whose purpose is to generate Evidence Events rather than genuine teaching or learning;

10.1.4 operate **sockpuppet or duplicate accounts**, or use another person's identity, to inflate your own SCI or another User's;

10.1.5 engage in **assessment cheating**, including using unauthorised aids, looking up answers during a timed assessment, or exploiting a technical flaw in the assessment engine;

10.1.6 engage in **proxy-taking** — having someone else sit an assessment, attend a Session, or otherwise act as you for the purpose of generating an Evidence Event in your name;

10.1.7 **share assessment content** — questions, answer keys or item banks — outside the Platform, or use shared content to prepare deceptively for a live assessment.

10.2 SCI manipulation is a serious breach regardless of the score gained.

**Likely consequence:** affected Evidence Events and SCI gains are reversed; a first, isolated instance typically results in warning and reversal; deliberate, repeated or organised manipulation — including any conduct under 10.1.4 or 10.1.6 — results in immediate suspension pending investigation and, on confirmation, termination. Where manipulation feeds a Verification supplied to an API Client, we notify the affected API Client.

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## 11\. Misuse of the Verification API

11.1 API Clients and anyone acting on their behalf must not query a Candidate without a valid legal basis and, where required, the Candidate's consent; store Verification results beyond the purpose disclosed to the Candidate; attempt to re-identify, aggregate or resell Verification data beyond the licence granted; or query a User known or reasonably suspected to be under 18.

11.2 The detailed obligations of API Clients are in the [**Developer API Terms**](https://getlemma.io/legal/api-terms), the [**Verification Services Agreement**](https://getlemma.io/legal/verification-agreement), and the **Data Sharing Agreement**. This clause applies the same standard to any User who is also acting as, or on behalf of, an API Client.

**Likely consequence:** suspension of API access pending investigation; confirmed misuse results in termination of the API Client's access and, where the misuse involves a minor's data, notification of the User and, if required, the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection.

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## 12\. Infringing intellectual property

12.1 You must not upload, share or use in a Session any content that infringes another person's copyright, trade mark or other intellectual property right, including pirated teaching materials, unlicensed textbooks, or another Practitioner's original course content used without permission.

**Likely consequence:** removal of the infringing content and, for repeat infringement, account restriction or termination under the [**Copyright & IP Policy**](https://getlemma.io/legal/copyright)'s repeat-infringer provisions.

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## 13\. Privacy violations

13.1 Lemma does not record Sessions. You must not record a Session, or any part of it, by any means without the prior consent of every participant. Doing so may also be a criminal offence.

13.2 You must not publish or share a recording, screenshot or transcript of a Session, or of another User's messages, without the consent of the people in it.

13.3 You must not collect, publish or share another User's personal data obtained through the Platform for a purpose outside the Session or relationship it was shared for.

**Likely consequence:** immediate removal or deletion of the material; suspension pending investigation; confirmed unlawful recording or redistribution results in termination and, given the criminal exposure described above, referral to the Cyprus Police.

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## 14\. Endangering a minor

14.1 You must not do anything that endangers the safety or wellbeing of a User under 18, including attempting to move a conversation with a minor off-platform, requesting personal contact details from a minor, or disregarding age-appropriate boundaries in a Session.

**Likely consequence:** immediate account termination and referral to the Cyprus Police. See also clause 4 for sexualisation of minors, which is treated with zero tolerance.

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## 15\. How to report a breach

15.1 If you see or experience conduct that breaches this Policy, report it:

15.1.1 **inside a Session or on a profile**, using the in-product report function, which reaches our team for review by a person; or

15.1.2 by emailing **[abuse@getlemma.io](mailto:abuse@getlemma.io)**, describing what happened, where, and, if the report concerns potentially illegal content, following the [**Notice & Action Policy**](https://getlemma.io/legal/notice-and-action).

15.2 If you or someone else is in immediate physical danger, contact the emergency services in your location first, then tell us.

15.3 We do not penalise a good-faith report that turns out mistaken. We do act against reports made in bad faith to harass a User or manipulate enforcement outcomes.

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## 16\. How we decide and how to appeal

16.1 We choose the least intrusive measure that addresses the problem and give a statement of reasons under **DSA Art. 17** and clause 12.5 of the **Terms of Service**. Any restriction affecting a Practitioner's ability to teach is reviewed by a person before it becomes permanent, and on request in every case (**Terms of Service**, clause 12.4).

16.2 You can appeal any enforcement decision under this Policy through the internal complaint route in clause 12.6 of the **Terms of Service**, by writing to [support@getlemma.io](mailto:support@getlemma.io).