Community Guidelines

VocalBox is an independent civic engagement platform built to help citizens learn, connect, report issues, collaborate and take action in their communities.

These Community Guidelines explain the standards of behaviour we expect from everyone on VocalBox so that the Platform remains safe, respectful, trustworthy and useful.

They apply to everything you create, share or do on VocalBox, including posts, comments, polls, messages, civic reports, marketplace listings, learning activities, CivicDesk submissions and other content or interactions.

These Guidelines are written in plain language. Your use of VocalBox is also governed by our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

1. Be Respectful

Treat other users, institutions and VocalBox staff with dignity and courtesy.

The following are not permitted:

• Harassment, bullying, threats or intimidation.
• Hate speech or discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, nationality or other protected characteristics.
• Targeted abuse or degrading attacks against individuals or groups.
• Encouraging others to harass, threaten or harm someone.

Disagreement is a normal and important part of civic discussion. Focus on the issue rather than attacking the person. Criticise ideas, arguments and policies without engaging in personal abuse.

2. Be Honest and Accurate

VocalBox is intended to support informed civic participation.

Do not intentionally post false, fabricated, deceptive or materially misleading information.

In particular:

• Civic reports should describe genuine issues or events to the best of your knowledge.
• Do not invent or deliberately exaggerate civic issues to gain attention, rewards or influence.
• Do not deliberately misrepresent evidence or context.
• Do not impersonate another person, organisation, institution, government body or public official.
• Do not falsely claim to have authority to speak for an institution or organisation.
• If you discover that information you posted is inaccurate, correct it or remove it where possible.

Users should distinguish between facts, opinions, allegations and personal experiences when posting civic content.

3. Respect Civic Integrity

VocalBox supports civic participation, which means the integrity of reports, polls, confirmations, debunks, verdicts and other participation mechanisms matters.

You must not:

• Manipulate votes, polls, verdicts, confirmations, debunks or endorsements.
• Create fake or duplicate accounts to amplify content or influence outcomes.
• Coordinate artificial engagement intended to manipulate Platform systems.
• Use bots, scripts or other automated methods to artificially increase engagement.
• Submit false civic reports to gain rewards, attention or influence.
• Confirm or debunk a report without a genuine basis for doing so.
• Abuse CivicDesk by submitting knowingly false information to institutions.
• Falsely claim to represent a government agency, public institution, organisation or other authority.

4. Protect Privacy and Safety

Respect the privacy and safety of other people.

Do not:

• Share another person's private or personal information without appropriate permission.
• Publish private addresses, phone numbers, financial information, private photographs or other sensitive personal information without a lawful basis or the person's consent.
• Publish content intended to stalk, threaten, target or endanger an individual.
• Encourage others to identify, locate or harm a person.
• Impersonate another person, organisation, institution or government body.

Protection of Minors

Protecting minors is a priority for VocalBox.

VocalBox has zero tolerance for child sexual abuse or exploitation (CSAE).

Any content involving child sexual abuse or exploitation is prohibited and may result in immediate removal, account termination and reporting to relevant authorities where required or appropriate.

Users must not use VocalBox to facilitate the exploitation, grooming, abuse or sexualisation of minors.

See our Safety Standards for additional information.

Sexual Content

Sexually explicit content and pornography are not permitted on VocalBox.

5. No Spam, Scams or Deceptive Offers

Do not use VocalBox to deceive, defraud or manipulate other users.

The following are prohibited:

• Spam, flooding or repetitive irrelevant content.
• Scams and fraudulent schemes.
• Pyramid or deceptive investment schemes.
• Fraudulent offers or misleading promotions.
• Phishing or attempts to obtain passwords, verification codes, payment information or other sensitive information.
• Misleading marketplace listings.
• Listing prohibited or unlawful goods or services.
• Soliciting payments or sensitive personal information outside supported Platform features for transactions represented as VocalBox transactions.

Marketplace listings must be accurate, lawful and not misleading.

6. Keep Content Lawful

Do not use VocalBox to post or distribute content that violates applicable law.

This includes:

• Content that facilitates or promotes unlawful activity.
• Content that infringes copyright, trademarks or other intellectual-property rights.
• Content that threatens or encourages unlawful violence.
• Content that promotes illegal drugs or unlawful goods or services.
• Content that facilitates the unlawful sale or distribution of regulated goods.
• Malware, malicious links or files designed to damage or compromise devices or accounts.
• Instructions or content intended to facilitate cyber abuse, unauthorised access or other unlawful activity.

7. Use the Platform as Intended

You must not abuse or interfere with the normal operation of VocalBox.

This includes:

• Manipulating rewards, referrals, Credits or other incentive systems.
• Exploiting bugs or vulnerabilities for personal benefit.
• Attempting to access another user's account.
• Bypassing security, authentication or access controls.
• Attempting to disrupt, compromise or reverse-engineer the Platform.
• Using automated tools, bots or scripts to interact with the Platform unless expressly authorised.
• Creating multiple accounts to circumvent restrictions or enforcement actions.
• Circumventing moderation or safety systems.

If you discover a security vulnerability, please report it responsibly rather than exploiting it.

8. AI-Generated Content

VocalBox provides AI-assisted features such as Parrot AI, Content Intelligence, transcription and Fact Checking.

AI-generated or AI-assisted content is subject to the same Community Guidelines as other content.

You are responsible for content you publish using AI tools.

Do not use AI features to:

• Generate spam or fraudulent content.
• Impersonate people or institutions deceptively.
• Create or distribute harmful or unlawful content.
• Deliberately generate misinformation intended to deceive or cause harm.
• Circumvent Platform safety or moderation systems.

AI outputs may be inaccurate or incomplete. Verify important information before sharing it, especially information concerning health, safety, legal matters, finances or government services.

9. Civic and Government Information

VocalBox is an independent civic engagement platform and is not a government entity or official government service.

Users must not falsely represent content, accounts or statements as being issued by a government or public institution.

Where CivicDesk is used by an authorised institution, official responses are attributable to that institution.

Government and public-sector information displayed elsewhere on VocalBox may come from publicly available sources. Users should verify important information with the relevant original or official source.

10. Reporting Violations

If you see content or behaviour that may violate these Guidelines:

1. Use the in-app Report or Flag option on the relevant content, account or interaction.
2. Select the reason that best describes the issue.
3. Provide relevant context or evidence where possible.

Reports are reviewed using our moderation and safety processes.

Please report violations in good faith. Do not use reporting tools to harass, retaliate against or deliberately silence other users.

11. Enforcement and Consequences

When we determine that content or behaviour violates these Guidelines, our Terms & Conditions or applicable law, we may take action including:

• Removing or restricting content.
• Limiting access to particular features.
• Issuing a warning.
• Removing Credits or rewards obtained through abuse.
• Temporarily suspending an account.
• Permanently terminating an account.
• Restricting an account from creating new accounts or accessing certain services.
• Reporting content or activity to relevant authorities where required or appropriate.

The action taken may depend on the nature, severity, frequency and context of the violation, as well as the user's previous conduct.

In urgent circumstances involving safety, fraud, exploitation or serious abuse, action may be taken without prior warning.

12. Appeals and Reviews

If you believe that content was removed or an account was restricted or suspended in error, you may contact us to request a review.

Appeal requests should provide sufficient information for us to identify the relevant account, content or enforcement action.

We will review appeals through our available moderation and safety processes.

13. Changes to These Guidelines

We may update these Community Guidelines from time to time.

When we make material changes, we may notify users through the Platform, by email or through another appropriate communication method.

The "Last updated" date will be changed when material updates take effect.

14. Contact Us

If you have questions about these Guidelines, need to report a safety issue or want to request a review of an enforcement action, contact: parrot@vocalbox.media