Terms of Service

Provided by CriticalMatters, GNN (Global News Network)

1. Intellectual Property & License to Users

All materials published on or via the Services—including text, graphics, data, photographs, editorial layouts, audio, video, software, and trademarks (collectively, the “GNN Content”)—are protected by international copyright, trademark, and proprietary rights laws. GNN Content is owned by or licensed to GNN Media Group.

We grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and read GNN Content for your individual, non-commercial use. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, republish, scrape, sell, or exploit any portion of the Services or GNN Content without our explicit prior written authorization.

2. User-Generated Submissions & Contributor Licensing

For journalists, community contributors, and Op-Ed authors submitting text, data, or images (collectively, “User Submissions”), the following terms apply:

  • Proprietary Rights & Grant of License: By providing User Submissions to GNN, you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and sublicensable license to host, display, reproduce, distribute, edit, and translate your work across any media format or channel. You retain your moral ownership but surrender exclusive rights.
  • Absolute Right to Moderate and Rectify: As a commitment to journalistic truth, GNN maintains an unconditional right to edit, alter, remove errata, or decline to publish any User Submission that fails our quality, objectivity, or fact-checking metrics. Pieces that cannot be edited into structural compliance with our editorial standards will be suppressed or removed.
  • Media and AI Warranties: You warrant that all text is uniquely yours and that all media elements feature mandatory, accurate attribution. Any inclusion of conditionally allowed AI-generated imagery must strictly respect legal baselines and cannot bring individuals, brands, or organizations into disrepute. Explicit imagery of any kind is banned and constitutes a material breach of this agreement.

3. Prohibited Conduct and System Misuse

You agree not to use the Services to engage in behavior that is illegal, disruptive, or harmful to GNN’s infrastructure or reputation. Explicitly prohibited conduct includes, but is not limited to:

  • Deploying automated software, scrapers, crawlers, or bots to harvest metrics, headlines, or GNN Content for commercial resale or AI training without explicit API agreements.
  • Submitting text designed to function as a backlink mill, hidden affiliate link structure, or search engine optimization (SEO) link-building campaign.
  • Using the Services to distribute spam, malware, phishing links, or unauthorized promotional content.
  • Engaging in harassment, targeted personal defamation, hate speech, or uploading content that violates local statutes within your operational jurisdiction.

4. Enforcement and Termination: The Two-Strike Policy

Account governance for contributors and registered users is managed under our structured two-strike enforcement policy, which works in lockstep with our Community Guidelines and Code of Conduct:

  • Strike One (Official Warning): Minor or negligent violations of this agreement (e.g., faulty citation, hidden links, minor behavioral friction) will result in content rejection and a formal administrative warning.
  • Strike Two (Account Revocation): A second structural violation, or intentional defiance of a Strike One warning, results in the immediate, permanent deletion of your profile, stripping of your distribution privileges, and a permanent ban from using GNN services.

GNN reserves the right to skip Strike One and issue an immediate permanent termination if an infraction involves severe legal exposure, explicit media uploads, systemic plagiarism, or criminal incitement.

5. Disclaimers & Limitation of Liability

THE SERVICES AND GNN CONTENT ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. WHILE GNN STRIVES FOR ABSOLUTE REPORTING EXCELLENCE, WE DO NOT GUARANTEE THAT THE PLATFORM WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, COMPLETELY ERROR-FREE, OR FREE FROM INFRASTRUCTURAL MALWARE.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: IN NO EVENT SHALL GNN MEDIA GROUP, ITS DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, JOURNALISTS, OR PARTNERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE SERVICES, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

6. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless GNN Media Group, its parent entities, affiliates, and respective staff from and against any third-party claims, liabilities, losses, damages, legal costs, or expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) resulting from your violation of these Terms, your submitted content, your infringement on copyright, or your breach of localized regional laws.

7. Governing Law and Jurisdictional Authority

These Terms, along with your overall legal relationship with GNN, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction where GNN Media Group is incorporated, without regard to conflicts of law principles. Any legal action or formal dispute arising directly from these Terms must be filed exclusively in the competent courts of that designated jurisdiction.