Terms of Service

1. Agreement to Terms

Welcome to Witness, a media verification service by Beck-AI ("Beck-AI," "we," "us"). By using the Witness mobile app or website (the "Service"), you agree to these Terms of Service ("Terms").

If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Service.

These Terms are a legal agreement between you and Beck-AI. By downloading the app, completing onboarding, or using the Service, you confirm you have read and agree to these Terms and our Privacy Policy.

2. What Witness Does

Witness is a platform that helps prove media is authentic. You can:

• Capture verified media: Record photos and videos with digital signatures that prove they haven't been edited
• Verify authenticity: Check if media has been tampered with
• Prove when it was captured: Show the exact time (and optionally location) media was recorded
• Create permanent proof: Your signatures are timestamped on the Bitcoin blockchain

The Service is provided "as is" without any guarantees.

3. Who Can Use Witness

You must be at least 13 years old to use Witness. By using the Service, you confirm that:

• You are 13 years or older
• You have legal capacity to agree to these Terms
• You are not banned from using the Service
• You will follow all applicable laws

4. Your Responsibilities

4.1 Keeping Your Device Safe

Witness doesn't use passwords or accounts. Instead, your phone creates a unique security key. You are responsible for:

• Keeping your phone safe and secure
• Protecting your phone's unlock method (PIN, password, fingerprint)
• Telling us immediately if your phone is lost or stolen

Important: If you lose your phone or reset it, you cannot recover signatures created by that device. Back up your media files separately.

4.2 Acceptable Use

You agree NOT to:

• Upload illegal content (violence, child exploitation, terrorism, etc.)
• Violate others' privacy rights (recording without consent where required by law)
• Infringe copyrights or trademarks
• Spam or abuse the verification service
• Try to hack or reverse-engineer the app
• Upload viruses or malicious code
• Pretend to be someone else
• Use bots or automated tools

4.3 You Are Responsible for Your Content

You are fully responsible for the media you capture and verify. Beck-AI:

• Does NOT review or approve your content
• Does NOT verify the truthfulness of what's shown in your media
• Only provides verification technology

Witness proves when and where media was captured - not whether the events shown are true or false.

4.4 Follow the Law

You agree to comply with Nigerian laws and regulations, including:

• Privacy laws: NDPR and local recording consent laws
• Copyright law: Don't record copyrighted content without permission
• Defamation law: You can be held liable for false or harmful content

5. Ownership and Rights

5.1 You Own Your Media

You keep full ownership of all photos and videos you capture with Witness. Beck-AI does NOT own or claim rights to your media files.

5.2 License for Verification Data

When you upload verification data (digital signatures, timestamps) to our database, you give Beck-AI permission to:

• Store and display verification data
• Make it publicly available for verification purposes
• Record it permanently on the blockchain

This permission is necessary because:

• Others need access to verify your media is authentic
• Blockchain records are permanent and public
• Journalists, fact-checkers, and courts need verification data

Important: This license only applies to verification data, NOT your actual photos or videos.

5.3 Beck-AI's Property

The Witness app, website, and branding are owned by Beck-AI. You cannot use our name or logos without written permission.

6. Important Disclaimers About Verification

6.1 Verification Is Not Perfect

No verification system is 100% accurate. Witness uses digital signatures to detect tampering, but:

• False Negatives: Advanced editing (AI deepfakes) may not be detected
• False Positives: Heavy compression from WhatsApp or Instagram may trigger tamper warnings even if media is unedited
• Not Foolproof: Verification results are assessments, not absolute proof

You acknowledge that verification is not guaranteed to be accurate.

6.2 No Warranty

Beck-AI does NOT promise or guarantee that:

• Verification results are correct or complete
• The Service will detect all forms of editing
• Your signatures are immune to future hacking
• Blockchain records will remain accessible forever

6.3 Third Parties Make Their Own Decisions

Witness provides verification tools, but the final decision about whether media is authentic rests with whoever is viewing the results (journalists, courts, fact-checkers). Beck-AI is not liable for:

• Wrong verification results
• Reliance on verified media in legal cases
• Damage to reputation from false verification

7. Prohibited Actions

You may NOT:

• Forge signatures: Try to create fake verification data
• Copy watermarks: Take watermarks from one video and put them on another
• Manipulate time: Change your phone's clock to fake timestamps
• Attack the service: Hack, DDoS, or attempt to break our systems
• Scrape data: Mass-download verification data from our database
• Bypass limits: Use VPNs or multiple devices to exceed verification quotas

Violations will result in immediate ban and possible legal action.

8. Service Changes and Availability

8.1 We Can Change the Service

Beck-AI has the right to:

• Modify, suspend, or stop the Service anytime
• Change verification methods or features
• Add usage limits
• Update these Terms (you'll be notified)

8.2 Downtime

The Service may be unavailable due to maintenance, outages, or emergencies. Beck-AI is not liable for any damage caused by Service downtime.

9. No Warranties

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES. This means:

• No guarantee the Service will work perfectly
• No guarantee verification results are accurate
• No guarantee the Service will be available 24/7
• No guarantee that bugs will be fixed

You use the Service at your own risk.

10. Limitation of Liability

BECK-AI IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE. This includes:

• Lost profits or revenue
• Data loss
• Reputation damage
• Incorrect verification results (false positives or negatives)
• Service outages or downtime
• Deleted verification data
• Third-party actions (social media compression, legal disputes)

MAXIMUM LIABILITY: Beck-AI's total liability to you cannot exceed ₦50,000 (Fifty Thousand Naira) or $100 USD, whichever is less.

These limitations apply even if Beck-AI knew damages were possible.

11. You Will Defend Beck-AI

You agree to defend and compensate Beck-AI for any claims or lawsuits arising from:

• Your use or misuse of the Service
• Your violation of these Terms
• Your violation of others' rights (privacy, copyright, etc.)
• Content you capture or verify
• Disputes with other users

This means if someone sues Beck-AI because of something you did, you will cover the legal costs.

12. Dispute Resolution

12.1 Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

12.2 Try to Resolve Disputes First

Before going to court, contact us at legal@beck-ai.com to try to resolve the dispute. We will respond within 30 days.

12.3 Jurisdiction

Any legal disputes will be handled by the courts in Lagos, Nigeria.

13. Termination

13.1 How You Can Stop Using Witness

You can stop using the Service anytime by:

• Uninstalling the Witness app
• Requesting deletion of your verification data via privacy@beck-ai.com

13.2 How We Can Ban You

We may ban you immediately without warning if:

• You violate these Terms
• You break the law
• You abuse or attack the Service
• Law enforcement requires it

13.3 What Happens After Termination

After termination:

• You can no longer use the Service
• Your verification data may remain in our database (blockchain is permanent)
• You are still liable for anything you did before termination

14. Changes to These Terms

Beck-AI can change these Terms at any time. Changes take effect immediately when posted.

Major changes will be announced via:

• App notification
• Website banner

If you continue using the Service after changes, you accept the new Terms. If you don't agree, stop using the Service.

15. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, are the complete agreement between you and Beck-AI. They replace all previous agreements or communications.

16. Partner Organizations

This section applies to news organizations, media companies, and other entities that register as partners on the Witness platform ("Partner Organizations" or "Partners"). By submitting a partnership application and using the Witness Partner Dashboard, you agree to the following additional terms.

16.1 Eligibility and Registration

To register as a Partner Organization, you must:

• Be a legitimate, registered news organization, media outlet, or journalistic entity
• Provide accurate organization name, contact email, and URL slug during registration
• Have authority to enter into this agreement on behalf of your organization
• Not be barred from receiving services under applicable law

Beck-AI reserves the right to approve or deny any partnership application at our sole discretion, without obligation to provide a reason.

16.2 The Partner Dashboard

Upon approval, Partners receive access to a private dashboard that allows them to:

• Receive verified media submissions from Witness users (eyewitnesses)
• Review, approve, reject, or flag submitted media
• Download submitted media files during the 3-day retention window
• Access cryptographic verification data and chain-of-custody reports
• Manage user accounts for their team members

16.3 Partner Responsibilities

As a Partner Organization, you agree to:

• Handle submissions responsibly: Treat all submitted media and submitter information with professional editorial discretion
• Protect submitter privacy: Contact information provided by submitters (email, phone) must be kept confidential and used only for editorial correspondence related to that specific submission
• Not resell or redistribute submissions: Submitted media and associated metadata may not be sold, licensed, or shared with third parties without the submitter's explicit consent
• Maintain account security: Ensure that dashboard access credentials are kept secure and not shared outside your editorial team
• Review submissions in good faith: Block, flag, or reject submissions based on genuine editorial or legal grounds, not for anti-competitive or discriminatory reasons
• Comply with applicable law: Ensure all use of submitted media complies with copyright law, privacy law, and defamation law in your jurisdiction

16.4 Media Submissions and Ownership

Media submitted by Witness users to your organization's queue:

• Remains the intellectual property of the original submitter at all times
• Is provided to you under a non-exclusive review license only, you may evaluate it for publication but do not acquire ownership or broad publishing rights by receiving it
• May only be published or used editorially subject to separate agreement with the submitter
• Must not be used for training artificial intelligence or machine learning models

Beck-AI acts solely as a transmission and verification platform. We are not a party to any agreement between your organization and a submitter regarding use or publication of media.

16.5 Submitter Blocking

Partners may block individual submitters from sending future submissions to their queue. This feature must only be used for legitimate reasons, including:

• Submitting spam, irrelevant, or abusive content
• Repeated submission of unverifiable or manipulated media
• Submission of content that violates your organization's editorial standards or these Terms

Misuse of the blocking feature to target individuals on discriminatory grounds may result in suspension of your partnership.

16.6 Data Retention and File Access

Submitted media files are stored temporarily for 3 days from the date of submission. Partners are responsible for downloading any media they intend to use within this window. Beck-AI is not liable for loss of access to media files after the retention period expires.

Verification data (cryptographic signatures, timestamps, metadata) is retained indefinitely and remains accessible through the Partner Dashboard and public verification portal.

16.7 Partner Account Suspension and Termination

Beck-AI may suspend or terminate a partnership immediately and without notice if the Partner:

• Violates any of these Terms, including the Partner-specific provisions in this section
• Misrepresents their organization or uses the platform fraudulently
• Engages in conduct that harms Witness users (submitters) or Beck-AI's reputation
• Ceases to operate as a legitimate journalistic organization
• Fails to respond to Beck-AI inquiries regarding suspected violations within 14 days

Upon termination, dashboard access is revoked. Submitters who submitted to your queue will no longer be able to access submission history through your portal.

16.8 No Endorsement

Partnership with Witness does not constitute an endorsement of your organization's editorial positions, reporting, or any content you publish. Partners may not represent themselves as "endorsed," "certified," or "approved" by Witness or Beck-AI without our prior written consent. You may state that you use Witness for media verification.

17. Contact Information

For questions about these Terms: