Terms of Use

1. Introduction & Acceptance

These Terms of Use ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("User", "you", "your") and OpenComments("we", "us", "our").

By accessing or using OpenComments (accessible at opencomments.co.za), you agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, you must discontinue use immediately.

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa, including the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA), the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (ECTA), and the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA).

2. Description of Service

OpenComments is a civic-engagement platform that:

• Aggregates information about South African government policy consultations from public sources including the Parliamentary Monitoring Group (PMG), Government Gazettes, and government department websites;
• Uses artificial intelligence (Google Gemini) to generate plain-language summaries, analyses, and translations of government policy documents;
• Enables registered users to draft and submit public comments on open policy consultations, which are forwarded to the relevant government department by email;
• Sends users notifications about policy developments matching their interests.

3. Important Disclaimers

4. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old, or the age of majority in your jurisdiction, to create an account and use the authenticated features of OpenComments. Browsing publicly available policy information does not require an account. By creating an account, you represent and warrant that you meet these eligibility requirements.

5. User Accounts & Security

When you create an account, you agree to:

• Provide accurate, current, and complete registration information;
• Maintain and promptly update your information to keep it accurate;
• Keep your password confidential and use a strong, unique password of at least 10 characters;
• Enable two-factor authentication where possible for enhanced security;
• Notify us immediately at privacy@opencomments.co.za of any unauthorised use of your account;
• Accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that appear to be compromised, dormant for an extended period, or in violation of these Terms. We will make reasonable efforts to notify you before doing so.

6. Acceptable Use Policy

You agree not to use OpenComments to:

• Submit false, misleading, defamatory, threatening, obscene, or unlawful content;
• Impersonate any person, organisation, or government body;
• Submit automated, bulk, or spam comments to government departments;
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the platform, other users' accounts, or our systems;
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, scrape, or interfere with the platform's operation;
• Circumvent rate limits, abuse AI-generation features, or excessively consume system resources;
• Use the platform for any purpose that violates applicable South African or international law;
• Distribute malware, viruses, or any harmful software through the platform.

Violations of this Acceptable Use Policy may result in immediate account suspension or termination, and may be reported to relevant law enforcement authorities.

7. Submissions, Content & Intellectual Property

7.1 Your Submissions

You retain full ownership and copyright of all original content in your submissions. By submitting a comment through OpenComments, you:

• Grant us a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to display, transmit, and store your submission for the purpose of providing the service (including forwarding it to the relevant government department);
• Confirm that you have provided informed consent (recorded with a timestamp) for your submission to be forwarded to the relevant government department;
• Acknowledge that once a submission is forwarded to a government department, that copy is outside our control and subject to the department's own data handling policies;
• Accept sole responsibility for the accuracy, legality, and appropriateness of your submission content.

7.2 AI-Generated Content

AI-generated policy summaries, analyses, translations, and draft comments are provided for informational and assistive purposes only. You are responsible for reviewing, editing, and approving any AI-assisted content before submission. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or legal sufficiency of AI-generated content.

7.3 Our Intellectual Property

The OpenComments platform, including its design, code, branding, logos, and original content, is owned by OpenComments and is protected by South African and international intellectual property laws. Government policy documents displayed on the platform remain the intellectual property of their respective publishers.

8. Third-Party Content & Links

OpenComments aggregates content from third-party sources (PMG, government websites, Government Gazettes) and may contain links to external websites. We do not endorse, control, or assume any responsibility for the accuracy, relevance, legality, or availability of third-party content. You access third-party content and links at your own risk. Always verify information through official government channels.

9. Service Availability & Modifications

We strive to maintain continuous availability of OpenComments but do not guarantee uninterrupted access. The service may be temporarily unavailable for maintenance, updates, or due to circumstances beyond our control. We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any feature or part of the service at any time. Where a material feature is discontinued (e.g. email forwarding), we will give reasonable advance notice where practicable.

10. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable South African law (including the CPA and ECTA):

• The service is provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.
• We shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including loss of profits, revenues, data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses.
• Our total aggregate liability arising from or relating to your use of OpenComments shall not exceed the greater of (a) the amount you paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim, or (b) R500 (five hundred South African Rand).
• We are not liable for any failure to deliver submissions to government departments, or for any government department's failure to receive, acknowledge, or act upon your submission.
• We are not liable for the accuracy of AI-generated summaries, analyses, translations, or draft comments.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law, including liability for fraud or gross negligence.

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless OpenComments, its directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in connection with: (a) your use of or inability to use OpenComments; (b) your violation of these Terms; (c) your violation of any third-party rights; or (d) the content of your submissions.

12. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms shall be:

• First, attempted to be resolved through good-faith negotiation within 30 days;
• If unresolved, submitted to mediation in Cape Town, Western Cape;
• If mediation fails, submitted to the jurisdiction of the High Court of South Africa, Western Cape Division.

Nothing in this clause prevents a party from seeking urgent interim relief.

13. Termination

You may terminate your account at any time from your Profile page, after completing account deletion verification, or by contacting us at privacy@opencomments.co.za. Upon termination:

• Your account will be deactivated and your personal data deleted within 30 days, subject to any legal retention obligations;
• Submissions already forwarded to government departments cannot be recalled;
• Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination (including disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnification, and governing law) will continue to apply.

14. Changes to These Terms

We may modify these Terms at any time. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and notify you by email and/or through a prominent notice on the platform. Your continued use of OpenComments after the effective date of any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree with the changes, you must stop using the service and may request account deletion.

15. Severability & Entire Agreement

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and OpenComments with respect to your use of OpenComments.

16. Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us: