How to Draft the Terms of Use for a Social Media Platform

Here are some important sample clauses to consider including in the Terms of Use of a social media service to maximize liability protection. There is no need to make the Terms complex. Their main purpose is to state that you are not responsible for users' actions or content, site/app is to be used at own risk and there are no guarantees of any kind. Users can't steal and copy your content. 

No need to list all the specifics and exact mechanics of your website in the Terms, - you can do all that on other site pages. The Terms of Use need to stay concise and to the point, so that users actually read them instead of skipping through the important provisions buried in unnecessary stuff.

Title	Purpose	Sample Language
Your Acceptance	To explain to users that these Terms constitute a legally binding contract even for those users who are just browsing without registering an account.	These Terms of Use (the “Terms”) are legally binding on you when you visit www.____________.com (the “Service”) or access ____________ mobile application (the “App”) even if you do not register an account or make a purchase. The Service and the App are collectively referred to herein as the “Service.” By accessing the Service, you indicate your acceptance of these Terms, as well as the Privacy Policy available at www.___________/_______. If you disagree with any provision of the aforementioned documents, you must exit the Service.
Neutral Venue	The law shields neutral eCommerce service owners from liability for   materials/transactions of the service users, if: (1) the transmission of the material was initiated by or at the direction of a person other than the service provider; (2) the transmission is carried out through an automatic technical process without selection of the material by the service provider; (3) the service provider does not select the recipients of the material; (4) no copy of the material made by the service provider is maintained on the system or network in a manner ordinarily accessible to anyone other than anticipated recipients; and (5) the material is transmitted without modification of its content. 17 U.S. Code § 512. In other words, service owners are legally protected if their role is simply to provide a neutral platform for users to transact. The Neutral Venue clause makes it clear that the owner is neutral and is, therefore, entitled to full   liability protection.	Our Service is a neutral venue. We have no control over user conduct and transactions. We disclaim all liability arising out of users’ activities or related to information provided to or by the Service users
Personal Safety	To stress that users are responsible for their own safety and the platform owner will not be liable for whatever arises out of users’ interactions with each other.
IP Ownership	To point out that the  platform owner owns the service and its content	We own all intellectual property rights to the Service. Service features, look and feel, design, registered and unregistered trademarks are protected by [Country] and international copyright, trademark, trade secret, and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws.
Your Content	- To explain what rights to user-submitted content does the platform owner have. - To repeat that users are solely liable for the content they submit.	Twitter: “You retain your rights to any Content you submit, post or display on or through the Services. By submitting, posting or displaying Content on or through the Services, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display and distribute such Content in any and all media or distribution methods (now known or later developed). You agree that this license includes the right for Twitter to provide, promote, and improve the Services and to make Content submitted to or through the Services available to other companies, organizations or individuals who partner with Twitter for the syndicati on, broadcast, distribution or publication of such Content on other media and services, subject to our terms and conditions for such Content use. Such additional uses by Twitter, or other companies, organizations or individuals who partner with Twitter, may be made with no compensation paid to you with respect to the Content that you submit, post, transmit or otherwise make available through the Services. We may modify or adapt your Content in order to transmit, display or distribute it over computer networks and in various media and/or make changes to your Content as are necessary to conform and adapt that Content to any requirements or limitations of any networks, devices, services or media. You are responsible for your use of the Services, for any Content you provide, and for any consequences thereof, including the use of your Content by other users and our third party partners. You understand that your Content may be syndicated, broadcast, distributed, or published by our partners and if you do not have the right to submit Content for such use, it may subject you to liability. Twitter will not be responsible or liable for any use of your Content by Twitter in accordance with these Terms. You represent and warrant that you have all the rights, power and authority necessary to grant the rights granted herein to any Content that you submit.” Google: “When you upload, submit, store, send or receive content to or through our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content. The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new ones. This license continues even if you stop using our Services (for example, for a business listing you have added to Google Maps). Some Services may offer you ways to access and remove content that has been provided to that Service. Also, in some of our Services, there are terms or settings that narrow the scope of our use of the content submitted in those Services. Make sure you have the necessary rights to grant us this license for any content that you submit to our Services. Our automated systems analyze your content (including emails) to provide you personally relevant product features, such as customized search results, tailored advertising, and spam and malware detection. This analysis occurs as the content is sent, received, and when it is stored.”
Photographs/Images	Special provisions regarding licensing of images that appear on the platform. Provisions regarding photos with recognizable people in them.
(DMCA) Takedown Requests	DMCA  basically exempts online service providers (OSP’s) from liability for copyright infringing acts by its users, provided it meets certain conditions (such as being responsive to copyright holders when given notice of infringement on the network). Among the conditions that an OSP must meet to be exempt from liability are: (1) No actual or constructive knowledge of infringing behavior; (2) No financial benefit directly attributable to the infringing activity; (3) When given a proper notice of infringing material being posted on its network, the OSP “responds expeditiously to remove, or disable access to, the material that is claimed to be infringing.”	All claims of copyright infringement committed using our Service will be investigated if reported to our designated Copyright Agent via email.
Disclaimer of Warranty	To explain that the website and its content are provided without any warranties, “as is,” to be utilized at users’ own risk	USE OF THIS SERVICE AND ITS CONTENTS IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. THIS WEBSITE AND ALL OF ITS CONTENT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS". YOU MUST NOT RELY ON ANY CONTENT PUBLISHED ON OR LINKED TO THIS WEBSITE WITHOUT FIRST MAKING YOUR OWN ENQUIRIES TO VERIFY IT IS ACCURATE, CURRENT AND COMPLETE. WE DO NOT MAKE, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM, ANY REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES, COVENANTS AND CONDITIONS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARISING OUT OF OPERATION OF LAW, COURSE OF PERFORMANCE, COURSE OF DEALING, USAGE OF TRADE OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF: MERCHANTABILITY; FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE; NON-INFRINGEMENT; SAFETY; QUALITY; FREEDOM FROM DEFECTS OR THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED; UNINTERRUPTED, VIRUS-FREE OR ERROR-FREE USE OF THIS WEBSITE; OR ACCURACY, CURRENCY, RELIABILITY, COMPLETENESS OR APPROPRIATENESS RELATING TO THE CONTENT OF THIS WEBSITE.
Membership Eligibility	To explain who can join the site.	LinkedIn: ”To use the Services, you agree that: (1) you must be the “Minimum Age” (defined below) or older; (2) you will only have one LinkedIn account (and/or one SlideShare or Pulse account, if applicable), which must be in your real name; and (3) you are not already restricted by LinkedIn from using the Services… As between you and others, your account belongs to you. You agree to: (1) try to choose a strong and secure password; (2) keep your password secure and confidential; (3) not transfer any part of your account (e.g., connections, groups) and (4) follow the law and the Dos and Don'ts below. You are responsible for anything that happens through your account unless you close it or report misuse.”
Community Standards	To encourage respectful behavior, safety, explain what is not allowed and how to report abuse.
Limitation of Liability	To prevent users for suing site owner for indirect, special and “exotic” damages.	FACEBOOK: “IF YOU ARE A CALIFORNIA RESIDENT, YOU WAIVE CALIFORNIA CIVIL CODE §1542, WHICH SAYS: A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS WHICH THE CREDITOR DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN HIS OR HER FAVOR AT THE TIME OF EXECUTING THE RELEASE, WHICH IF KNOWN BY HIM OR HER MUST HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS OR HER SETTLEMENT WITH THE DEBTOR. WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR OTHER CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS STATEMENT OR FACEBOOK, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. OUR AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF THIS STATEMENT OR FACEBOOK WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100) OR THE AMOUNT YOU HAVE PAID US IN THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS. APPLICABLE LAW MAY NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY OR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN SUCH CASES, FACEBOOK'S LIABILITY WILL BE LIMITED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.”
Payment/Taxes	To explain how to pay and how the taxes are handled.	You agree to pay all sums due when due.  All payments must be made by Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express or through PayPal. Customer agrees to pay all fees and charges incurred in connection with purchases (including any applicable taxes). Unless you notify us of any discrepancies within sixty (60) days after they first appear on your credit card statement, you agree that they will be deemed accepted by you for all purposes. If we do not receive payment from your credit card issuer, you agree to pay all amounts due upon demand. You are responsible for paying any governmental taxes imposed on your purchases, including, but not limited to, sales, use or value-added taxes. Customer's receipt of an electronic or other form of order confirmation does not signify our acceptance of the order. We reserve the right at any time after receipt of your order to accept or decline your order for any reason.
Chargebacks	To protect against frivolous chargebacks	If you dispute any payment made to us, you must contact us immediately and provide full details of your claim. If you submit an unjustified charge-back, then you will be liable to pay us, within 7 days following the date of the charge-back: (i)an amount equal to the amount of the charge-back; (ii) all expenses incurred by us in relation to the charge-back; and (iii) an administration fee of ______. If you submit an unjustified charge-back, then we may terminate any contracts between you and us.
Refund Policy	To outline your Refund Policy. If you don't have one, you can write that all sales are final and no refunds will be made.
Third Party Sites	To explain that you are not liable for problems caused by third party services you use to support your platform (e.g. PayPal). Note that  FTC requires “clear   and conspicuous” affiliate disclosures	The Service may contain links to third party websites that are not owned or controlled by this Service. This   Service retains no authority or control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third party websites. In addition, the Service will not and cannot censor or edit the content of any third-party site. You acknowledge that we will not be liable for any and all claims, demands and damages of any kind and nature arising out of or in any way connected from any and all potential liabilities arising from the use of any third-party website. Third party networks have their own terms of use, and you must comply with any terms and conditions provided by any third party network. Instagram: “Some of the Service is supported by advertising revenue and may display advertisements and promotions, and you hereby agree that Instagram may place such advertising and promotions on the Service or on, about, or in conjunction with your Content. The manner, mode and extent of such advertising and promotions are subject to change without specific notice to you.”
User Obligations; Prohibited Conduct	To explain what users can and cannot do on your platform	By accessing the Service, you represent, warrant and agree that: a.      _______________ b.      _______________ c.       _______________ You cannot: a.      _______________ b.      _______________ c.       _______________
Electronic Communication	To explain that electronic communications shall be deemed as legally binding as paper ones.	You agree that all notices or other communications regarding your account and/or your use of the Service ("Communications") may be provided to you   electronically and you agree to receive all Communications from us in electronic form. All electronic Communications will be considered just as   legally binding as Communications in paper form.
Indemnification	To require users to  pay for damages caused by the breach of the Terms (e.g. users uploading others’ copyrighted materials to your site)	You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless [our company name], its officers, directors, employees and agents, from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debt, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees) arising from: (i) your use of and access to the Site; (ii) your violation of any provision of these Terms; (iii) your violation of any third party right, including without limitation any copyright, property, or privacy right; or (iv) any claim that one of your user submissions caused damage to a third party.
Termination	To be able to easily get rid of problematic users	We may terminate or suspend your access to all or part of the Service for any or no reason, including without limitation, any violation of these Terms
Linking		You may link to our Service in a way that is legal, fair and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it, but you must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval or endorsement on our part where none exists.
Governing Law	To ensure you don’t get sued in a remote jurisdiction after a customer there buys your product. Consumer laws of many countries (particularly, in Europe) limit merchants’ ability to require consumers to litigate or arbitrate in foreign jurisdictions.	By accessing the Service, you agree that any legal matter that may arise between you and us relating to the Service shall be governed by the laws of [State/Province/Country].
(Documents-Only) Arbitration	Arbitration is usually quicker, cheaper, confidential, less complicated and more informal than trial. This sample clause provides for a confidential “documents only” hearing, so that it’s not necessary for parties to travel to resolve disputes. Important note to software companies and developers: European pro-consumer countries limit arbitration clauses in consumer contracts. Exercise caution. Read Software Licensing Issues for US Businesses in Europe and Japan to get an idea of potentially problematic software/mobile application licensing clauses in foreign jurisdictions.	Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms, or the breach thereof, shall be settled by   arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association in accordance with its Commercial Arbitration Rules  and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator(s) may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. The arbitration will be based on the submission of documents and there shall be no in-person or oral hearing. Except as may be required by law, neither a party nor an arbitrator may disclose the existence, content, or results of any arbitration hereunder without the prior written consent of both parties.
Severability		Should any part of these Terms be rendered or declared invalid by an appropriate authority, such invalidation of such part or portion of these Terms should not invalidate the remaining portions thereof, and they shall remain in full force and effect.
Modifications	To explain that these Terms may be updated without notice every once in a while, and the updates will be legally binding	We update these Terms every once in a while as we deem appropriate, without notifying you. We then post the changes on this page. Please check this page   from time to time to take notice of any changes we made, as they are binding on you. Your continued use of the Service following the posting of revised Terms of Use constitutes your acceptance of the changes.
General	Assignment, Waiver, Relationship of the Parties, etc.	You cannot assign your obligations under these Terms without our prior consent. Enforcement of these Terms is solely in our discretion, and failure to enforce the Terms in some instances does not constitute a waiver of our right to enforce them in other instances. These Terms do not confer any rights upon any third party. You and us are independently contracting parties. We reserve the right to modify the Service and its features at any time without prior notice.