Terms of Service
Clear terms for using Principle. By accessing our platform, you agree to these standards and conditions.
Last updated: May 2, 2026
Educational Use & FERPA Compliance
School Official Status: Principle Civics acts as a School Official with a legitimate educational interest under FERPA (34 C.F.R. § 99.31(a)(1)) solely when operating under a signed institutional agreement with the applicable school or district that includes the required data protection provisions. Schools that have not executed an institutional agreement with us should not create student accounts or share student education records with the Platform.
Educational Institution Terms
- FERPA compliance: We maintain compliance with Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act requirements
- COPPA protections: Enhanced protections for students under 13 with parental consent requirements
- Data minimization: We collect only educational data necessary for providing our service
- No advertising: Educational data is never used for advertising or commercial purposes
- Google Classroom integration: Seamless integration with existing educational workflows
- Teacher controls: Comprehensive classroom management and content filtering tools
- Data retention: Educational records deleted within 30 days of contract termination
Service Level Agreement
- Uptime guarantee: 99.5% monthly uptime for all services
- Educational support: Priority support for educational institutions during school hours
- Data backup: Automated daily backups with 90-day retention for disaster recovery
- Security monitoring: 24/7 security monitoring and incident response
Using Principle
Eligibility & Access
- You must be at least 13 years old to create an account
- Users under 13 may use the Service only through our COPPA-compliant family account system, which requires verifiable parental consent before account creation.
- You must provide accurate and complete registration information
- You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials
Permitted Use
- Access educational content and take quizzes for personal learning
- Track your progress and earn achievements through our gamification system
- Participate in multiplayer quiz games and learning competitions
- Interact with our AI-powered learning assistant for educational purposes
- Subscribe to premium features for enhanced learning experiences
Prohibited Conduct
- Violate any applicable laws or regulations
- Copy, distribute, or modify our content without written permission
- Use automated systems or software to extract data from the Service
- Interfere with or disrupt the Service or servers
Community Standards
Zero Tolerance: We maintain a zero tolerance policy for harassment, discrimination, hate speech, or any behavior that creates an unsafe or unwelcoming environment. Violations result in immediate account suspension or termination.
Prohibited Behavior
- Harassment or bullying: Intimidation, threats, stalking, or persistent unwanted contact
- Discrimination: Targeting individuals based on protected characteristics
- Hate speech: Content promoting violence or hatred against any group
- Doxxing: Sharing private information without consent
- Impersonation: Pretending to be another person or entity
Your Account
- Account security: You are solely responsible for maintaining account security
- Accurate information: Provide and maintain accurate account information
- Termination: We may terminate accounts that violate these Terms
- Data retention: Account data is retained per our Privacy Policy
Content & Intellectual Property
All content on the Service, including text, graphics, logos, images, and software, is owned by us or our licensors and protected by intellectual property laws.
- Quiz questions, answers, and explanations
- Learning algorithms and gamification systems
- User interface design and experience
Important Disclaimers
Educational Purpose Only: The Service provides civic education and should not be considered legal, financial, or professional advice.
- "AS IS" BASIS: The Service is provided without warranties of any kind
- Accuracy: We strive for accuracy but cannot guarantee error-free content
- Availability: We don't guarantee uninterrupted access to the Service
Limitation of Liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, PRINCIPLE CIVICS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES.
Letters to Congress & User Content
Scope
This section governs all content you submit through interactive features of Principle, including Letters to Congress, comments, community posts, and any future civic-action features (“User Content”). It supplements the rest of these Terms; in case of conflict, this section controls for User Content.
Content License
You retain ownership of your User Content. By submitting, you grant Principle a non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable, worldwide, perpetual license to reproduce, display, distribute, archive, and create derivative works (including anonymized summaries and aggregations) of your User Content, solely to operate, improve, and promote the platform. We will not sell your individual User Content to third parties.
This license survives deletion of your letter to the extent that: (a) copies have already been indexed by search engines or shared by other users; (b) legal retention obligations apply; or (c) the content appears in anonymized aggregate data.
Public Display
By submitting a Letter and confirming the consent checkbox at submission, you acknowledge and agree that:
- Your Letter will be published publicly on Principle and accessible to any visitor, including unauthenticated visitors
- Your Letter will be accessible via a persistent, shareable URL
- Your chosen display name and state will appear alongside your Letter
- Your Letter may be indexed by third-party search engines and archived by third-party services outside Principle’s control
- Once indexed by third parties, Principle cannot guarantee removal of cached or archived copies even after you delete your Letter
Your Representations
- Age: You are at least 13 years old. If you are between 13 and 17, a parent or legal guardian has reviewed your submission.
- Original work: Your Letter is your original work and does not infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party.
- Lawful content: Your Letter does not contain threats, harassment, hate speech, defamatory statements, or content that violates any applicable law.
- No impersonation: You are not impersonating another person or entity.
Moderation
We reserve the right, but do not assume the obligation, to review, approve, reject, edit, or remove any User Content in our sole discretion. Submitted Letters enter a moderation queue and may take up to 24 hours to appear publicly. Rejection from moderation does not create any claim against Principle. Our decision to publish a Letter does not constitute endorsement of its content.
Deletion
You may delete your published Letter at any time through your account. Deletion removes your Letter from Principle’s active platform. As described above, Principle cannot guarantee removal of copies cached or archived by third parties before deletion. Account deletion also deletes your Letters, subject to the same limitation.
Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Principle, its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or related to: (a) your User Content; (b) your violation of these Terms; (c) your violation of any third-party right, including copyright, trademark, or privacy rights; or (d) any claim that your User Content caused harm to a third party.
No Legal Advice
Principle’s letter templates, suggested language, and civic education content are for educational purposes only and do not constitute legal, political, or professional advice. Principle does not represent you in any communication with congressional representatives.
Future Features
When we launch additional User Content features, we will provide feature-specific disclosures at the point of submission. This section establishes baseline terms that apply to all User Content unless a feature-specific section expressly states otherwise. If a new feature materially changes the scope of public publication of your personal information, we will provide at least 14 days’ advance notice and require affirmative re-consent.
Contact Us
If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us at:
- Legal matters: legal@principlecivics.com
- General support: support@principlecivics.com
Changes to These Terms
We may modify these Terms at any time. Your continued use constitutes acceptance of the new Terms. Material changes will be highlighted clearly.
Thank you for using Principle! As a new platform, we're committed to building a safe, effective, and enjoyable civic education experience.