navigation bar

U S WEST Internet/Intranet Services

Acceptable Use Policies

Table of Contents:

Introduction

U S WEST's commitment to its customers is to provide consistent and superior customer experiences. With this in mind, U S WEST provides customers a number of Services that make use of the Internet/Intranet. As a subscriber to these services, you are accepting terms and conditions spelled out in this document..

This document, the "U S WEST Acceptable Use Policies" is an agreement that governs the use of the Services. It is an agreement between U S WEST and you the service subscriber. You are responsible for all users and usage of the account, whether the use is authorized or not. This agreement is a series of guidelines that are designed to help U S WEST meet customer commitments. It is hoped that the guidelines encourage responsible use of U S WEST Services by our community of users that along with good judgment will continue U S WEST's ability to provide superior customer experiences both to our customers and the Internet community as a whole. It is believed that when these policies are followed, it will help:

Increase the enjoyment and usage of the Internet,

Preserve the value of the Internet as a medium for free expression,

Maintain the image and reputation of U S WEST as a responsible provider, and

Preserve the privacy and security of individual users.

In the event that U S WEST believes or discovers that a service subscriber has violated the policy , U S WEST reserves the right to terminate or suspend service(s) without notice. Because U S WEST takes the suspension or deactivation of an account seriously, U S WEST may elect to send notice to user(s) of violation(s) before terminating the account. In all cases of suspension or termination of service, notification is the preferred way of responding to incidents but it is not a requirement. In the case where an account has been terminated or suspended, the reactivation of the old account or the acquiring of a new account will only be allowed by express written approval of U S WEST. The account may also be held responsible for any charges associated with any installation or activation charges, whether it is for a new account or an existing suspended or terminated account.

The providing of the U S WEST Acceptable Use Policies does not in any way obligate U S WEST to monitor or police accounts for violation. U S WEST is not responsible for content and is acting only as a passive conduit. U S WEST is also not liable to any party, either you or any other party, for any violations of this policy.

Modifications to Acceptable Use Policy

Because of the continual changes in the Internet environment, technology, legal requirements, and service offerings, U S WEST reserves the right to modify the Acceptable Use Policies whenever needed without prior notification. Changes to the policies will be posted electronically online via the Service. It will be your responsibility to be aware of and understand the policies and posted modifications. Any use of the service after the posting will constitute the acceptance by the subscriber of the policy modification and or changes.

U S WEST's Rights and Responsibilities

The providing of the U S WEST Acceptable Use Policies does not in any way obligate U S WEST to monitor or police accounts for violation. U S WEST is not responsible for content and is acting only as a passive conduit. U S WEST is also not liable to any party, either you or any other party, for any violations of this policy.

In providing U S WEST services, U S WEST has certain rights and responsibilities to you and to Federal and State legal authorities. Following is a list of some, although not all, of U S WEST's rights and responsibilities.

In providing service to you, U S WEST employees or representative have the right and responsibility to examine operational systems, access logs or audit trails in order to resolve problems or service system errors. U S WEST employees or representatives have the right and responsibility to monitor operational systems, access logs or audit trails for purposes of measuring system performance and for billing purposes. In our responsibility to the INTERNET community and/or for the protection of U S WEST's services and reputation, U S WEST has the right to respond accordingly, including the monitoring of accounts.

U S WEST has the obligation and responsibility to cooperate with appropriate legal authorities in investigating illegal activities. In instances where you or other users of U S WEST's services or of the Internet have reported to law authorities the belief that your/their legal rights or privacy have been violated, U S WEST will assist the appropriate law enforcement authorities to the extent possible. U S WEST will not become involved in the mediation or resolution of any dispute between U S WEST subscribers and/or Internet users.

U S WEST will take necessary measures to provide a high level of security for the services offered. In offering the services, U S WEST cannot provide any guarantee of secure service or secure servers including any data on the servers or part of the services, even if the service or servers are described as "SECURE". U S WEST will also not assume any liability for the security of the services, the servers or the data.

In providing services and systems used for communication purposes, U S WEST will assist to the extent possible those subscribers who notify U S WEST of any e-mail or postings that they view as illegal or unsolicited. U S WEST does not have the responsibility or the authority to regulate or censor the content of any newsgroup or communications passing through its services or systems. Additionally, the content of any communications sent via U S WEST systems does not reflect the endorsement or approval of U S WEST.

If U S WEST becomes aware of inappropriate use of its services or of illegal activities engaged in by you in the use of its services, U S WEST may respond accordingly, including the immediate termination of the account without notice if deemed appropriate.

Acceptable Use: Privacy and Censorship

In using U S WEST services, you will abide by the following policies concerning privacy and censorship:

    1. You have the responsibility to monitor their your accounts for access to newsgroups and Web sites that may contain offensive material.
    2. You will notify U S WEST of the continual receipt of e-mail that you view as illegal or that is unsolicited.
    3. You must not design or provide systems used for the collection of information about others without their explicit knowledge and consent. For Web sites that require registration before access or downloading of information, the intended use of the "registration" information should be provided.
    4. You will not misuse any electronic information collected about others.

Acceptable Use: Copyright Infringement

In using U S WEST services, you will abide by the following policies concerning copyright infringement:

    1. You will be aware of copyright law as it pertains to obtaining or transmitting information on the Internet.
    2. You will take any action needed to protect their your ownership rights for any work created for their your own exclusive use.
    3. You will obtain appropriate licenses for work other than your own that is either transmitted by you or placed on your personal web page.
    4. You will only download files that can be legally distributed.
    5. You will not remove or falsify the source or origin of any material in any files uploaded.

Acceptable Use: Security

In using U S WEST services, you will abide by the following policies concerning security:

    1. You will not attempt to interfere with or compromise any part of the Service's operation, the equipment making up the Service and its system, other accounts or restricted areas of the Service and its system, or in any manner affect the availability of the Services or its systems for other U S WEST customers.
    2. You are prohibited from trying to gain access to any account, customer data or system that you do not have authorized access to unless consent has been granted by the owner.
    3. You may not attempt to compromise the security of any computing facility or assist others to compromise the security of a computing facility.
    4. You may not modify or prevent the intended or proper operation of any computing facility.
    5. You will protect your passwords. You will not disclose any information regarding passwords that protect Services and facilities to others. You will not attempt to discover the password of another user, nor attempt access to Services or facilities with the use of another's password.
    6. You may not disclose any part of any of U S WEST's or any other party's confidential information, including but not limited to any business records, files or business practices.

Acceptable Use: Illegal Activity

In using U S WEST Services, you will use U S WEST Services for lawful purposes only and will not engage in any illegal activity. Illegal activities include activities that violate federal or state regulations and laws or the legal rights of others. Illegal activities include, but are not limited to:

    • The illegal transmission, illegal storage or illegal use of copyrighted material, trade secrets, confidential information or threatening material.
    • Postings or e-mails containing threats of violence.
    • Distributing or disseminating defamatory, infringing or obscene material or information.
    • Using U S WEST's services to threaten, harass, stalk, abuse or otherwise violate the legal rights of others.

Acceptable Use: General Services Usage

In using U S WEST Services, you will abide by the following general usage policies:

    1. You will not engage in any activity that adversely affects the use of U S WEST's Services by others.
    2. You will make timely payments of all amounts due for Services.

Acceptable Use: E-mail

In providing e-mail services to you, U S WEST does not have the responsibility for the content or tone of any e-mail sent using U S WEST's services.

In using U S WEST's e-mail services, you will abide by the following policies:

    1. You are prohibited from sending unsolicited bulk e-mail, or from the receiving of responses from unsolicited bulk e-mail in a U S WEST e-mail address.
    2. You are prohibited from sending e-mail that is terroristic in nature, threatening and/or harassing.
    3. You will not intercept or redirect e-mail intended for others.
    4. You will not maliciously send files with either corrupted data or viruses.
    5. You will not use impersonation, or use a different name or address with the intent of misleading the receiver into believing that the sender is someone other than who they are.
    6. You are responsible for ensuring that any resource limitations in the use of e-mail or mailboxes are followed.

Acceptable Use: Newsgroups

In providing access to newsgroup services, U S WEST does not have the responsibility for the content or tone of any newsgroup, or the retrieval of any postings from any newsgroup.

In using newsgroup services from U S WEST's Services, you will abide by the following policies:

    1. You will not exceed general usage standards for the number of postings of the same or similar article to multiple newsgroups
    2. You will adhere to the newsgroup's definition of what can be posted. Most newsgroups describe the posting of commercial advertisements as off-topic postings.
    3. You will not use impersonation, or use a different name or address with the intent of misleading the receiver into believing that the sender is someone other than who they are.

Acceptable Use: Internet Relay Chat (IRC)

In providing access to IRC services, which are multi-user, multi-channel chatting networks that allow Internet users to talk (via text) to each other in real time about subjects of mutual interests, U S WEST does not have the responsibility for the content or the tone of any IRC.

In participating in IRCs accessed from U S WEST Services, you will not violate any accepted policies on the IRC servers and will not make use of IRC bots, or any automated data that is not human generated.

Acceptable Use: Dial-up Services

In providing dial-up services for access to U S WEST's Services or to the Internet, U S WEST provides equipment and resources that are used on a shared basis by many subscribers. Because the equipment and facilities are limited, it is not appropriate for any subscriber to use the services in a dedicated or automated constant use application. If the excessive use by an account is such that it potentially impacts U S WEST's ability to provide Services or network resources that need to be protected, the account can be terminated immediately.

U S WEST dial-up accounts are also subject to idle timeouts. An idle timeout is the disconnection of a session when a dial-up account is idle for a specified period of time and no interactive, human generated data appears to be received from the remote user's computer system. Automated data is not considered interactive or human generated and is also subject to idle timeout. Examples of automated data include data generated by an automatic re-dialer, script or other program that runs on the user's computer system for the purpose of avoiding inactivity disconnects.

In using dial-up services from U S WEST, you will not resell any services or offer public information services over dial-up accounts (unlimited usage or otherwise), nor permit more than one log-on session to be active at one time on dial-up accounts.

Acceptable Use: Resource Usage

In providing access to U S WEST's Services or to the Internet, U S WEST provides resources, including but not limited to bandwidth and disk space, that are used on a shared basis by many subscribers. Because the resources are limited, it is not appropriate for any subscriber to exceed their usage of these resources. If the excessive use by an account is such that it potentially impacts U S WEST's ability to provide services or that network resources need to be protected, the account can be terminated immediately.

To facilitate the use of shared network resources, U S WEST has res ource limits for the use of the e-mail services. U S WEST shall no t be liable to you or parties interacting with you for any damages resulting fro m the actions U S WEST takes to enforce the following provisions:
1. Total mailbox storage is limited to fifteen meg abytes per mailbox. When a mailbox reaches a soft limit of ten megabytes of stor age, a warning will be delivered to the user indicating that fifteen megabytes o f storage is the limit before messages are not delivered and returned to the sen der. When the mailbox reaches the fifteen megabytes of storage limit, mail will be returned to the sender with a message indicating that the receiver's mailbox is full.
2. The maximum size of an e-mail message is ten megabytes, either for inbound or o utbound messages. Messages that exceed ten megabytes will not be delivered, and the user will receive a notification message informing them that the message wa s too large.

ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

CONTENT.

You are solely responsible for creating, managing, editing, reviewing, deleting and otherwise controlling the content of messages or information in connection with Service. U S WEST is acting only as a passive conduit. U S WEST gives you complete discretion over the content to be accessed or distributed in connection with the Service. U S WEST has no obligation, and undertakes no responsibility to determine whether any such content may give rise to liability to third parties. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, if U S WEST believes in its sole discretion that any use by you of Service may create liability for U S WEST, U S WEST may take any actions, including but not limited to termination of Service, that U S WEST believes are prudent to minimize U S WEST's potential liability.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. U S WEST SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF PROFIT, LOSS OF INFORMATION OR DATA, OR INTERRUPTED COMMUNICATIONS, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL U S WEST BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTIES FOR AN AMOUNT GREATER THAT THAN THE APPLICABLE CREDIT FOR SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES. U S WEST MAKES NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, WRITTEN OR ORAL, STATUTORY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT THE SERVICE IS NOT A GUARANTEE THAT VIRUSES, TROJAN HORSES, WORMS, TIME BOMBS, CANCELBOTS OR OTHER SIMILAR HARMFUL OR DELETERIOUS PROGRAMMING ROUTINES WILL NOT BE IMPORTED TO THE CUSTOMER'S NETWORK. U S WEST DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT YOUR NETWORK WILL NOT EXPERIENCE UNINTERRUPTED COMMUNICATIONS OR BREACHES IN SECURITY.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION.

Other than those claims over which a regulatory agency has exclusive jurisdiction, all claims, regardless of legal theory, whenever brought and whether between you and U S WEST or between one of the Parties to this policy and the employees, agents or affiliated businesses of the other Party, shall be resolved by arbitration. A single arbitrator engaged in the practice of law and knowledgeable about the subject matter of the claim shall conduct the arbitration in accordance with the then current rules of the American Arbitration Association ("AAA").

The arbitrator's decision shall be final and binding and judgment may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.

Other than the determination of those claims over which a regulatory agency has exclusive jurisdiction, federal law (including the provisions of the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. Sections 1-16) shall govern and control with respect to any issue relating to the validity of this agreement to arbitrate and the arbitrability of the claims.

If any Party files a judicial or administrative action asserting claims subject to arbitration, and another Party successfully stays such action and/or compels arbitration of such claims, the Party filing the action shall pay the other Party's costs and expenses incurred in seeking such stay or compelling arbitration, including reasonable attorney's fees.

You shall be deemed to have read, understood and agreed to all of the above terms and conditions of this Policy by activation of the Accept option on the screen.

[ Service Plans & Pricing | Features of the Service | Special Deals | Frequently Asked Questions | How to Order | Back to U S WEST.net ]