Terms of Service

Contractual agreements between service providers and users defining the rules and expectations for using a service, website, or application. Terms of Service (ToS) establish legal relationships covering: acceptable use policies, user obligations and restrictions, service scope and limitations, payment terms (if applicable), intellectual property rights, liability limitations, indemnification, dispute resolution procedures, and termination conditions. While ToS primarily address service usage, they intersect with privacy in several ways: incorporating privacy policies by reference, establishing data rights and licenses users grant, defining security responsibilities, and outlining account deletion processes. Organizations should: present ToS clearly before users commit to services, use understandable language avoiding excessive legalese, maintain version history to demonstrate transparency, provide notice of material changes, and keep ToS reasonable to enhance enforceability. Courts more readily enforce ToS users actually had opportunity to review before agreeing, making prominent display important. ToS should complement privacy policies without creating conflicts or contradictions.