Platform Guidelines

We have an absolute prohibition on content that sexually exploits minors. This includes:

• Any visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, whether real, simulated, drawn, or digitally generated.
• Grooming content directed at minors or designed to facilitate contact with minors for sexual purposes.
• Any content that sexualizes minors, regardless of whether explicit acts are depicted.
• Sharing, soliciting, or linking to CSAM in any form.

We report all discovered CSAM to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and cooperate fully with law enforcement globally. Accounts involved in CSAM will be permanently banned and referred to law enforcement immediately.

Users must be at least 13 years of age. We prohibit content designed to target, exploit, harm, or manipulate users under 18. Adults who use the Platform to initiate romantic or sexual contact with minors will be permanently banned and reported to relevant authorities.

The following content is prohibited on the Platform:

• Content that promotes, glorifies, celebrates, or incites real-world violence against any person or group.
• Graphic or gratuitous depictions of death, severe injury, mutilation, or torture shared for shock value or entertainment.
• Threats of violence against identifiable individuals or groups, including conditional threats.
• Content that instructs others in the commission of violence or serious harm.
• Content that celebrates or promotes terrorist acts, mass violence, or genocide.

We recognize that violent imagery and discussion may serve legitimate educational, journalistic, documentary, or artistic purposes. We may permit graphic content shared with appropriate context labels where the purpose is clearly to inform, document historical events, or raise awareness. Users who post such content must include appropriate context. Cords reserves the right to apply content warnings or restrict visibility of such material.

Cords prohibits content that attacks, dehumanizes, or calls for discrimination against individuals or groups based on protected characteristics, including but not limited to:

• Race, ethnicity, or national origin.
• Religion or religious affiliation.
• Gender or gender identity.
• Sexual orientation.
• Disability or health condition.
• Age.
• Immigration or citizenship status.
• Caste.
• Veteran status.

Prohibited content includes slurs used to attack, content that portrays a group as subhuman, calls for discrimination or segregation, content that espouses or promotes the ideologies of hate groups or supremacist movements, and content that uses coded language to convey hatred while evading detection.

Discussing, analyzing, critiquing, or documenting hate speech and discrimination — including quoting hateful language for the purpose of counter-speech, education, or journalistic reporting — is permitted where the intent is clearly to oppose rather than promote the conduct. Context is determinative.

Cords prohibits conduct designed to intimidate, distress, humiliate, or harm other users or third parties, including:

• Targeted harassment campaigns against an individual, including coordinated abuse and pile-ons.
• Repeated unwanted contact after a user has indicated a desire for no further communication.
• Posting content designed to publicly shame or embarrass an individual based on personal or private characteristics.
• Threats to expose private information (doxing) or threats of reputational harm as a means of coercion.
• Content that encourages others to harass a specific individual.
• Sexualized harassment, including unwanted sexual commentary or propositions.
• Mocking or belittling users who have disclosed suicidal ideation, self-harm, or personal trauma.

Robust public debate, satire, criticism of public figures, and commentary on matters of public concern are protected expression on the Platform. The distinction between harassment and protected speech turns on intent, targeting, and severity. Criticism directed at ideas, policies, or the public conduct of public figures is generally permitted. Conduct designed primarily to cause personal distress to an individual is not.

You may not post, share, or threaten to share another person's private or personally identifying information without their consent, including:

• Home or physical address.
• Private email address or phone number not publicly disclosed.
• Social security numbers, financial account numbers, or tax identification numbers.
• Private sexual images (see Section 6.2).
• Location data that could enable stalking or physical harm.
• Immigration status.
• Medical, psychological, or legal records.

We strictly prohibit the sharing of intimate images, sexual images, or sexually explicit content depicting any person without that person's express and verifiable consent. This includes content created with artificial intelligence or other manipulative tools that depicts a real person in a sexual context without their consent ("deepfakes"). We will remove such content immediately upon verified report and permanently ban the responsible account.

Users may not use another person's name, likeness, voice, or other personal attributes for commercial purposes without that person's consent.

We prohibit content that contains verifiably false information and is likely to cause real-world harm, including:

• Health misinformation that contradicts the scientific consensus and could endanger life, including false vaccine information, fraudulent medical treatments, or dangerous health advice.
• Crisis misinformation that fabricates or distorts facts about ongoing emergencies, natural disasters, or public health events in ways that could impair emergency response.
• Voter and election misinformation that is designed to suppress participation in civic processes, including false information about voting procedures, eligibility, or results.
• Content falsely attributing statements or actions to identifiable individuals in a defamatory or harmful manner.

We recognize that satire, parody, opinion, and good-faith speculation are distinct from misinformation. We will consider context and labeling when evaluating borderline content.

We prohibit coordinated inauthentic behavior designed to artificially amplify content, manipulate platform metrics, or deceive other users about the nature or source of an account. This includes:

• Operating multiple accounts for the purpose of evading enforcement actions.
• Using automated tools (bots) to post, like, follow, or otherwise interact on the Platform without authorization.
• Purchasing or selling followers, likes, reposts, or other engagement metrics.
• Coordinated campaigns to artificially amplify specific narratives without disclosure.
• Astroturfing: misrepresenting the organic nature of support for a position, product, or individual.

By default, the Platform is a general-audience environment. The following sexual content is prohibited:

• Explicit sexual imagery depicting real persons without their consent.
• Content that depicts sexual acts involving minors, regardless of claimed consent.
• Content that non-consensually sexualizes or objectifies specific real individuals.
• Solicitation of sexual services in exchange for compensation.
• Unsolicited sexual content sent to or directed at other users.

Nudity in artistic, educational, medical, or documentary contexts is generally permitted where the purpose is not prurient. Public health discussions, body-positive content, breastfeeding imagery, and similar content are expressly permitted.

You may not use the Platform to facilitate, plan, coordinate, solicit assistance for, or celebrate illegal activities. This includes but is not limited to:

• Drug trafficking, including the sale of controlled substances or prescription drugs without authorization.
• Weapons trafficking, including sale of illegal firearms, modifications, or untraceable weapons.
• Human trafficking, smuggling, or the facilitation of exploitation.
• Fraud, identity theft, phishing, and financial crimes.
• Hacking, unauthorized access to computer systems, or distribution of malware.
• Animal cruelty.
• Sale of counterfeit goods or services.

You may not post content offering to sell, trade, or give away firearms, ammunition, explosives, or regulated weapons in violation of applicable law. Discussion of legal firearms ownership, historical weapons, or weapons in sporting contexts is generally permitted.

We prohibit content that promotes, glorifies, or provides instruction for self-harm or suicide. We follow evidence-based safe messaging guidelines developed by mental health organizations. Content that discusses experiences with self-harm or suicidal ideation in the context of seeking support, raising awareness, or recovery is treated differently from content designed to encourage harm. Users who post content in apparent crisis will be directed to emergency resources.

Crisis resources: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (US): 988  ·  Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741  ·  International Association for Suicide Prevention: iasp.info

We prohibit content that promotes, facilitates, or celebrates terrorism, violent extremism, or mass atrocities. This includes recruiting for violent extremist organizations, disseminating propaganda on behalf of terrorist groups, fundraising for designated terrorist organizations, and celebrating attacks or attackers. Discussing extremism for the purposes of education, journalism, counter-extremism, or research is permitted.

You may not post content that infringes the copyrights of others. Only post content you have the right to share — including content for which you hold the copyright or have a valid license, or content in the public domain. Cords responds to valid DMCA takedown requests as described in our Terms of Use.

You may not impersonate any individual, organization, brand, or entity in a manner that misleads or deceives other users. Parody and fan accounts are permitted only if they are clearly and conspicuously labeled as such. Using another person's name, photograph, or personal details to create a deceptive account is prohibited and will result in account termination.

The Platform is designed for authentic human communication. Prohibited spam behaviors include:

• Posting repetitive, unsolicited, or mass-distributed promotional content.
• Aggressive following, unfollowing, liking, or reposting to gain visibility.
• Directing unsolicited commercial offers to other users.
• Artificially inflating post visibility through coordinated activity.
• Posting content with irrelevant or deceptive hashtags or mentions.

Content that violates these Guidelines will be removed from the Platform. Users whose content is removed will be notified, except where notification would compromise an ongoing investigation, interfere with law enforcement, or pose a risk to user or public safety.

For first or minor violations, we may issue a formal warning to the user's account. Warnings are documented and considered in future enforcement decisions. Accumulation of warnings may result in escalated enforcement.

Temporary suspension restricts a user's ability to post, interact, or access certain features for a defined period ranging from twenty-four (24) hours to ninety (90) days, depending on the severity and frequency of violations. During suspension, the account may remain visible but inactive.

Certain violations result in immediate permanent termination of an account with no possibility of reinstatement. These include, without limitation:

• Posting or distributing CSAM.
• Non-consensual sharing of intimate images.
• Credible threats of mass violence or terrorism.
• Facilitating human trafficking or exploitation.
• Repeated severe violations after prior enforcement actions.
• Impersonating law enforcement or government officials to deceive others.
• Creating a new account after a prior account has been permanently terminated (ban evasion).

Cords cooperates with lawful requests from law enforcement authorities globally. Where content poses an imminent risk to life or physical safety, we may proactively report to law enforcement without waiting for a formal request.

Users who believe that a content removal or account enforcement action was taken in error may submit an appeal. Appeals must be submitted within thirty (30) days of the enforcement action.

To submit an appeal, contact us at joincords@gmail.com with: (a) your account username; (b) a description of the enforcement action you received; (c) the specific reason you believe the action was incorrect; and (d) any supporting context or evidence.

Appeals are reviewed by Cords team members who were not involved in the original enforcement decision. We will notify you of the outcome within fourteen (14) business days of receipt. Appeal decisions are final for violations involving CSAM, credible violence threats, and terrorism.

Appeals are not available for permanent terminations related to CSAM, non-consensual intimate imagery, credible threats of mass violence, or confirmed terrorism facilitation. These enforcement actions are final.