Acceptable Use Policy and Notice Procedure (DSA)

This Acceptable Use and Content Policy ("Acceptable Use Policy") forms part of the General Terms and Conditions of StarCore (https://starcore.dev/terms). It applies to everyone who uses StarCore's Services, in particular to Clients whose website StarCore hosts. Chapters 5 to 9 describe our notice-and-action procedure and our content moderation policy as referred to in Articles 14, 16 and 17 of the Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, "DSA").

1. Starting point

StarCore hosts client websites and does not review Content in advance. We believe in an open internet and intervene only when necessary: in the case of illegal content, conduct that harms others or our systems, or when a competent authority orders it. When we intervene, we do so proportionately, carefully and with an explanation.

2. Prohibited content

It is not permitted to store, publish or distribute through the Services content that:

1. is criminal, including child sexual abuse material, terrorist content, incitement to hatred or violence, and the offering of illegal goods or services;
2. infringes the rights of others, including copyrights, trademark rights, portrait rights and trade secrets (for example offering illegal copies or counterfeit products);
3. is unlawful towards persons, including defamation, libel, threats, stalking, doxing and publishing personal data without a legal basis;
4. is misleading or fraudulent, including phishing, fake web shops, scams, pyramid schemes and impersonating another person or organisation;
5. contains or distributes malicious software (malware, ransomware, spyware, exploits) or serves as infrastructure for it (command-and-control, drop zones);
6. offers gambling without the required licence or other activities that require a licence in the Netherlands or in the target audience's country without that licence;
7. breaches data protection legislation, for example processing personal data without a legal basis or without the required information to data subjects.

3. Prohibited conduct

It is not permitted to:

1. send or cause to be sent unsolicited bulk e-mail (spam), use address lists without valid consent, or send e-mail without a working unsubscribe option and correct sender details (Article 11.7 Dutch Telecommunications Act);
2. attack or scan networks or systems without permission, including DDoS, brute force, port scans and distributing tools for this;
3. misuse StarCore's infrastructure for purposes unrelated to the Client Website, such as crypto mining, proxy services, torrent seeding or mass scraping of third-party websites;
4. circumvent security measures of StarCore or third parties, gain access to other clients' data, or exploit vulnerabilities instead of reporting them;
5. use the Services in a way that seriously hinders the service to other clients, contrary to the fair-use policy in the General Terms and Conditions;
6. resell the Services or make them available to third parties without StarCore's Written consent.

4. Client obligations

1. The Client ensures that its Website complies with the law: including a correct identity notice (name, address, KvK, VAT number), a privacy statement, a cookie policy where cookies are used, and the consumer law information when selling to consumers.
2. The Client keeps the login details of its CMS and Panel secret, uses strong passwords and two-factor authentication where offered, and reports a suspected intrusion immediately.
3. The Client reports vulnerabilities it discovers in the Services to info@starostkaweb.com instead of exploiting or disclosing them. StarCore treats such reports confidentially and will not take legal action against reporters acting in good faith (responsible disclosure).

5. Content moderation policy (Article 14 DSA)

1. No general monitoring. StarCore does not proactively monitor Content and uses no automated tools to scan or filter Content, with the exception of standard technical security (such as malware scanning at server level and spam filters for outgoing e-mail), which does not look at the meaning of the content.
2. Trigger. StarCore assesses Content only (a) after a notice under the procedure in Chapter 6, (b) after an order from a competent judicial or administrative authority, or (c) after its own observation, for example during support or security work.
3. Human review. Every assessment and every decision is taken by a human (the owner of StarCore), never solely by automated means.
4. Standard. We assess whether Content is illegal under Dutch and EU law and whether it breaches this Acceptable Use Policy. In case of doubt about the illegality of content that is not manifestly unlawful, we ask the Client for a response before intervening, unless the nature of the notice (for example child sexual abuse material) requires immediate action.
5. Measures. Possible measures, in increasing severity: a warning to the Client with a deadline to remove or amend the Content itself; removal of or disabling access to specific Content; temporarily taking the Client Website offline; suspending the account; terminating the Agreement in the event of serious or repeated breaches. We choose the least intrusive measure that is appropriate and limit measures to the Content concerned where technically possible.
6. Internal complaint handling. The Client may object to any measure; see Chapter 8.

6. Reporting illegal content (Article 16 DSA)

1. Any person or organisation may notify StarCore of content on a website hosted by StarCore that they consider illegal. Preferably use the notice form at https://starcore.dev/report, or e-mail info@starostkaweb.com with the subject "Notice of illegal content". Notices may be submitted in Dutch, English or Polish.
2. To assess your notice we need:
   • a sufficiently substantiated explanation of why you consider the content illegal (which law or right is infringed);
   • the exact URL(s) of the content and, where needed to locate it, additional indications (for example screenshots);
   • your name and e-mail address, except for notices concerning child sexual abuse material or other offences referred to in Articles 3 to 7 of Directive 2011/93/EU, which may be submitted anonymously;
   • a statement that you act in good faith and that the information in your notice is, to the best of your knowledge, accurate and complete. If you report on behalf of a rights holder (for example in the case of copyright infringement), also state on whose behalf you act.
3. Acknowledgement. You receive, without undue delay and usually automatically and immediately, an acknowledgement of receipt at the e-mail address you provided, with a reference number.
4. Assessment. We assess notices in a timely, diligent, objective and non-arbitrary manner. Our target time frames are:
   • child sexual abuse material, terrorist content and acute threats to persons: assessment and, if well-founded, action as soon as possible and no later than 24 hours;
   • phishing, malware and other acute security risks: within 24 hours on working days;
   • other notices: within 7 working days, whereby we usually first ask the Client for a response. For complex notices (for example a disputed copyright) the assessment may take longer; we then inform the reporter of the status.
5. Outcome. We inform you without undue delay of our decision, including the reason if we take no action, and of your options to challenge that decision (Chapter 8). We do not share the Client's personal data in doing so unless the law obliges us to.
6. Abuse of the notice procedure. Notices that are manifestly unfounded, that repeatedly concern the same content already assessed, or that contain incorrect information may, after a warning, be left unprocessed for a reasonable period.
7. Retention. We keep notices and decisions for 24 months for accountability and to recognise abuse; see the Privacy Statement (https://starcore.dev/privacy).

7. Statement of reasons to the Client (Article 17 DSA)

When StarCore removes or disables access to Content, restricts its visibility, takes a Website offline or suspends or terminates an account, the Client receives, no later than at the time of the measure, a clear and specific statement of reasons by e-mail and in the Panel, containing at least:

1. which measure was taken and, where applicable, its duration and territorial scope;
2. the facts and circumstances on which the decision is based, including whether the decision follows a notice from a third party, an order from an authority or StarCore's own observation;
3. whether and how automated means were used (at StarCore: none, except possibly for detection);
4. if the content is considered illegal: the legal basis and an explanation of why the content falls under it;
5. if the content breaches this Acceptable Use Policy: the provision concerned and an explanation of why;
6. the available remedies: objection to StarCore (Chapter 8) and recourse to the courts.

No statement of reasons is provided where an order from an authority prohibits it or where the measure results from such an order; in that case we refer to the order insofar as permitted.

8. Objecting to a decision

1. Both the Client and the reporter may object In Writing within six months of a StarCore decision, through the Panel or via info@starostkaweb.com, explaining why the decision would be incorrect. Objecting is free of charge.
2. The objection is assessed by a human, carefully and not solely on the basis of automated means. Where possible, a different person than the one who took the original decision assesses it; because StarCore is a sole proprietorship, this may mean that the owner reassesses the decision in light of the arguments put forward and, where useful, after obtaining legal advice.
3. StarCore responds with reasons within 14 days. If the decision proves incorrect, StarCore reverses the measure without undue delay.
4. In addition, both the Client and the reporter always have recourse to the competent court. Those concerned may also lodge a complaint with the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), the Dutch Digital Services Coordinator.

9. Orders from authorities and criminal offences

1. StarCore complies with orders from competent judicial or administrative authorities to act against illegal content or to provide information (Articles 9 and 10 DSA) as legally required. StarCore informs the Client of the order and its effect unless the law or the order prohibits this.
2. If StarCore becomes aware of information giving rise to a suspicion that a criminal offence involving a threat to the life or safety of persons has taken place, is taking place or is likely to take place, StarCore promptly informs the police or the public prosecutor, or Europol, and provides the relevant available information (Article 18 DSA).
3. StarCore answers requests for a Client's identifying data from parties other than authorities only if the criteria developed by Dutch case law for disclosure are met (sufficiently plausible unlawfulness, a real interest, no less intrusive route, a balancing of interests), and after having given the Client, where possible, the opportunity to respond.

10. Points of contact (Articles 11 and 12 DSA)

• For Member State authorities, the European Commission and the European Board for Digital Services (Article 11 DSA): info@starostkaweb.com, stating "DSA – authority". Communication is possible in Dutch and English.
• For recipients of the service and reporters (Article 12 DSA): the Panel (for Clients), the notice form https://starcore.dev/report and info@starostkaweb.com. Communication is possible in Dutch, English and Polish and is always handled by a human; there is no exclusively automated handling.
• These details are also provided on https://starcore.dev/legal.

11. Transparency

StarCore is a micro-enterprise within the meaning of Recommendation 2003/361/EC and is therefore exempt from the obligation to publish transparency reports (Article 15(2) DSA). StarCore does keep an internal register of notices received, orders and measures taken, and provides access to it at the request of a competent authority.

12. Changes

Changes to this Acceptable Use Policy follow Article 20 of the General Terms and Conditions: announcement at least 30 days in advance by e-mail and in the Panel, with a summary of the changes; in the event of material deterioration the Client may terminate.