By subscribing to the residential high-speed internet service (the “Internet Service”) of Citynet, and its applicable operating subsidiary that owns and/or operates the cable television system in your area (“Citynet”), you agree not to use the Internet Service for any unlawful purpose and to comply with all policies and terms of this Acceptable Use Policy. Citynet posts this policy on its website at www.citynet.net (“Website”). Citynet may change this policy from time to time without notice to you by posting updated versions at this website or another website about which you have been notified. You and other users of the Internet Service should periodically review the Acceptable Use Policy to conform to the most recent version. Revisions are effective immediately upon posting. The Acceptable Use Policy, as it may be changed and updated over time, is incorporated into your Residential Subscriber Agreement. If you, and/or any user of your Internet Service, fail to abide by any of the terms of the Acceptable Use Policy, as updated, Citynet may suspend or terminate the provision of the Internet Service to you as further detailed below in the paragraph entitled “Violation of the Acceptable Use Policy.” Additionally, Citynet reserves the right to charge you for any direct or indirect costs Citynet may incur in connection with your failure to abide by the Acceptable Use Policy.
Acceptable Use Policy: You agree not to use the Internet Service for any unlawful purpose and to comply with all policies and terms of Citynet’s Acceptable Use Policy which is incorporated into this Agreement by this reference. You also agree that Citynet may change the Acceptable Use Policy from time to time without notice by posting updated versions on the Website. If you, and/or any user of your Service, fail to abide by any of the terms of the Acceptable Use Policy, as updated, Citynet may terminate this Agreement and the provision of the Internet Service to you. Additionally, Citynet reserves the right to charge you for any direct or indirect costs we may incur in connection with your failure to abide by this section or the Acceptable Use Policy. You and other users of the Internet Service should periodically review the Acceptable Use Policy to conform to the most recent version.
The Internet Service may be used to provide Internet access over a wireless network using standard wireless Internet protocols. You can use the Service to connect WiFi-compliant devices like a mobile phone, tablet, or laptop computer to the Internet. You may only use the Internet Service (including WiFi) for personal conveniences and not for any critical uses. Further, you are prohibited from using this Internet and WiFi Service for any and all commercial purposes. If you have profited and engaged in commercial activity through your use of the Internet and WiFi Service, then Citynet will retroactively charge you for a comparable monthly data subscription for the period of such use, not to be less than one (1) month.
Copyright Infringement: Citynet is committed to complying with U.S. copyright and related laws, and requires all users of the Citynet Internet Service to comply with these laws. Accordingly, you may not use the Citynet Internet Service to store any material or content, or disseminate any material or content, in any manner that constitutes an infringement of third-party intellectual property rights, including rights granted by U.S. copyright law. If you are the owner of a copyrighted work and believe your rights under U.S. copyright law have been infringed by any material on the Internet Service, you may take advantage of certain provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the “DMCA”) by sending Citynet’s authorized agent a notification of claimed infringement that satisfies the requirements of the DMCA. Upon Citynet’s receipt of a satisfactory notice of claimed infringement, Citynet will respond expeditiously either directly or indirectly (i) to remove the allegedly infringing work(s) accessible through the Internet Service or (ii) to disable access to the work(s). It is Citynet’s policy in accordance with the DMCA and other applicable laws to reserve the right to terminate access to the Internet Service (or any part of those services) for any user who is either found to infringe third-party copyright or other intellectual property rights, including repeat infringers, or who Citynet, in its sole discretion, believes is infringing these rights. Citynet may terminate access to the Citynet Internet Service at any time with or without notice for any affected customer or user. If the affected user believes in good faith that the allegedly infringing works have been removed or blocked by mistake or misidentification, then that person may send a counter notification to Citynet. Upon Citynet’s receipt of a counter notification that satisfies the requirements of DMCA, Citynet will provide a copy of the counter notification to the person who sent the original notification of claimed infringement and will follow the DMCA’s procedures with respect to a received counter notification. In all events, you expressly agree that Citynet will not be a party to any disputes or lawsuits regarding alleged copyright infringement. Any notification of claimed infringement must be in a form that satisfies the requirements of Section 512(c)(3) of the U.S. Copyright Act. Under the DMCA, anyone who knowingly makes misrepresentations regarding alleged copyright infringement may be liable to Citynet, the alleged infringer, and the affected copyright owner for any damages incurred in connection with the removal, blocking, or replacement of allegedly infringing material. If a notification of claimed infringement has been filed against you, you can file a counter notification with Citynet. All counter notifications must satisfy the requirements of Section 512(g)(3) of the U.S. Copyright Act.
Unlawful Use and Prohibited Activities: The use of the Internet Service for any activity that violates any local, state, federal or international law, order or regulation is a violation of this Acceptable Use Policy. Prohibited activities include, but are not limited to the following:
When you use the Internet and WiFi Service, you agree that you will not:
- undertake or accomplish any unlawful purpose, including without limitation by posting, storing, transmitting or disseminating information, data or material which is libelous, obscene, unlawful, threatening or defamatory, or which infringes the intellectual property rights of any person or entity, or which in any way constitutes or encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, or otherwise violate any local, state, federal, or non-U.S. law, order, or regulation;
- post, store, send, transmit, or disseminate any information or material which a reasonable person could deem to be unlawful;
- upload, post, publish, transmit, reproduce, create derivative works of, or distribute in any way information, software or other material obtained through the Service or otherwise that is protected by copyright or other proprietary right, without obtaining any required permission of the owner;
- transmit unsolicited bulk or commercial messages commonly known as “spam;”
- send very large numbers of copies of the same or substantially similar messages, empty messages, or messages which contain no substantive content, or send very large messages or files that disrupts a server, account, blog, newsgroup, chat, or similar service;
- initiate, perpetuate, or in any way participate in any “pyramid” or other illegal scheme;
- participate in the collection of very large numbers of email addresses, screen names, or other identifiers of others (without their prior consent), a practice sometimes known as spidering or harvesting, or participate in the use of software (including “spyware”) designed to facilitate this activity;
- collect responses from unsolicited bulk messages;
- falsify, alter, or remove message headers;
- falsify references to Citynet or its network, by name or other identifier, in messages;
- impersonate any person or entity, engage in sender address falsification, forge anyone else’s digital or manual signature, or perform any other similar fraudulent activity (for example, “phishing”);
- violate the rules, regulations, terms of service, or policies applicable to any network, server, computer database, service, application, system, or web site that you access or use;
- access any other person’s computer or computer system, network, software, or data without his or her knowledge and consent; breach the security of another user or system; or attempt to circumvent the user authentication or security of any host, network, or account. This includes, but is not limited to, accessing data not intended for you, logging into or making use of a server or account you are not expressly authorized to access, or probing the security of other hosts, networks, or accounts without express permission to do so;
- use or distribute tools or devices designed or used for compromising security or whose use is otherwise unauthorized, such as password guessing programs, decoders, password gatherers, keystroke loggers, analyzers, cracking tools, packet sniffers, encryption circumvention devices, or Trojan Horse programs. Unauthorized port scanning is strictly prohibited;
- copy, distribute, or sublicense any proprietary software provided in connection with the Service by Citynet or any third party, except that you may make one copy of each software program for back-up purposes only;
- distribute programs that make unauthorized changes to software (cracks);
- use or run dedicated, stand-alone equipment or servers, also commonly referred to as public services or servers. Examples of prohibited equipment and servers include, but are not limited to, email, web hosting, file sharing, and proxy services and servers;
- use or run programs that provide network content or any other services, except for personal and non-commercial use;
- service, alter, modify, or tamper with any Citynet equipment or service or permit any other person who is not authorized by Citynet to do so;
- use the Service for any purpose other than personal and non-commercial use;
- use the Service for operation as an Internet service provider or for any business, other legal entity, or organization purpose (whether or not for profit);
- restrict, inhibit, or otherwise interfere, regardless of intent, purpose or knowledge, with the ability of any other person to use or enjoy the Service (except for tools for safety and security functions such as parental controls, for example), including, without limitation, posting or transmitting any information or software which contains a worm, virus, or other harmful feature;
- impede others’ ability to use, send, or retrieve information;
- restrict, inhibit, interfere with, or otherwise disrupt or cause a performance degradation, regardless of intent, purpose or knowledge, to the Service or any Citynet (or Citynet supplier) host, server, backbone network, node or service, or otherwise cause a performance degradation to any Citynet (or Citynet supplier) facilities used to deliver the Service;
- resell the Service, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly;
- interfere with computer networking or telecommunications service to any user, host or network, including, without limitation, denial of service attacks, flooding of a network, overloading a service, improper seizing and abusing operator privileges, and attempts to “crash” a host;
- falsify, alter, spoof, or otherwise modify or change any Internet protocol (“IP”) or Media Access Control address (sometimes called a MAC address) assigned to or associated with your device to access the WiFi Service; or
- access and use the Service with anything other than a dynamic IP address that adheres to the dynamic host configuration protocol (“DHCP”). You may not configure your device to use this Service or any related equipment to access or use a static IP address or use any protocol other than DHCP.
Multiple Users: The Internet Service and Citynet Equipment shall be used only by you and by members of your immediate household living with you at the same address. The Residential Subscriber Agreement binds you and all persons who use your Internet Service. You shall have sole responsibility for ensuring that all other users understand and comply with the terms and conditions of this Agreement and provisions incorporated herein by reference. You further acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible for and liable for any and all breaches of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, whether the breach is the result of use of the Internet Service and/or Citynet Equipment, by you or by any other user.
Theft of Service: You acknowledge that any unauthorized receipt of the Service constitutes theft of service, which is a violation of federal law and can result in both civil and criminal penalties. In addition, if the violations are willful and for commercial advantage or private financial gain, the penalties may be increased.
Responsibility for Content: You acknowledge that there is some content and material on the Internet or otherwise available through the Internet Service that may be offensive to some individuals, may be unsuitable for children, may violate federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations, or may violate your protected rights or those of others. We assume no responsibility for this content or material. Anyone who accesses such content and material does so at his or her own risk. NEITHER CITYNET NOR ITS AFFILIATES, SUPPLIERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS, DISTRIBUTORS, LICENSORS OR BUSINESS PARTNERS SHALL HAVE ANY LIABILITY WHATSOEVER FOR ANY CLAIMS, LOSSES, ACTIONS, DAMAGES, SUITS, OR PROCEEDINGS ARISING OUT OF OR OTHERWISE RELATING TO ACCESS TO SUCH CONTENT OR MATERIAL BY YOU OR OTHERS. Questions or complaints regarding content or material should be addressed to the content or material provider. You acknowledge that software programs are commercially available that claim to be able to restrict access to sexually explicit or other objectionable material on the Internet. We make no representation or warranty regarding the effectiveness of such programs.
16.7.6 Eavesdropping: The public Internet is used by numerous persons or entities including, without limitation, other subscribers to Citynet’s Internet Service. As is the case with all shared networks like the public Internet, there is a risk that you could be subject to “eavesdropping.” This means that other persons or entities may be able to access and/or monitor your use of the Internet Service. If you post, store, transmit, or disseminate any sensitive or confidential information, you do so at your sole risk. NEITHER CITYNET NOR ITS AFFILIATES, SUPPLIERS, OR AGENTS SHALL HAVE ANY LIABILITY WHATSOEVER FOR ANY CLAIMS, LOSSES, ACTIONS, DAMAGES, SUITS, OR PROCEEDINGS ARISING OUT OF OR OTHERWISE RELATING TO SUCH ACTIONS BY YOU. You acknowledge that software programs are commercially available that claim to be capable of encryption or anonymization. We make no representation or warranty regarding the effectiveness of these programs.
Security: You are solely responsible for taking the necessary precautions to protect yourself and your equipment, software, software configurations, files and data against any risks inherent in the use of the public Internet. You are also responsible for any misuse of your Internet Service, even if the inappropriate activity was committed by a friend, family member, guest, employee, or any other person with access to the Internet Service. Therefore, you must take steps to ensure that others do not gain unauthorized access to the Internet Service, for instance by strictly maintaining the confidentiality of your passwords or by appropriately protecting the use of your computer or any wireless devices you use in connection with the Internet Service. You are solely responsible for the security of any device you choose to connect to the Internet Service, including any data stored on that device. Citynet recommends that any files or services you do choose to make available for remote access be protected with a strong password or as otherwise appropriate. In addition, without limiting this responsibility:
Service Setup: You acknowledge that when using the Internet Service there are certain applications, such as a web browser or email client, that use protocols such as FTP (File Transfer Protocol) or HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) which may be used by others to gain access to your computer and operating system including all software, files and data thereon. You are solely responsible for the security of your computer and operating system or any other equipment you choose to use in connection with the Internet Service, including without limitation any software, files or data stored thereon. Citynet shall have no liability whatsoever for any claims, losses, actions, damages, suits or proceedings resulting from, arising out of or otherwise relating to the use of such applications by you, or the access by others to your computer, operating system, or other equipment of yours or the data, software or files thereon.
File and Print Sharing: The Internet Service functions in some ways as a Local Area Network (LAN) with each subscriber constituting a node on the network. As such, others may be able to access your computer, operating system, data and other equipment connected in some way to your computer and operating system. In addition, some available software includes capabilities that will permit other users to gain access to your computer, operating system, data and other connected equipment to the software, files and data stored on such equipment, even if you are not using the Internet Service. We recommend that you disable file and print sharing and other capabilities that allow outside users to gain access to your computer, operating system, or other equipment of yours or the data, software or files thereon. You acknowledge that if you choose to run these applications, you should take appropriate security measures, and that any failure by you to follow this recommendation is at your sole risk. Citynet shall have no liability whatsoever for any claims, losses, actions, damages, suits or proceedings resulting from, arising out of or otherwise relating to access by others to your computer, operating system, or other equipment of yours or the data, software or files thereon.
Information Provided to Third Parties: The Internet Service will allow you to access third parties, including without limitation, content providers, online services and other providers of goods, services and information. Some of these goods, services and information may be accessible directly from the Internet Service and others may be accessible from the third parties referenced above. In connection with this third-party access, you may be requested or required to provide your name, address, telephone number, credit card number and other personally identifiable information to such third parties. If you choose to provide this information to third parties, you understand that it is not subject to the privacy provisions of this Agreement or Citynet’s Customer Privacy Notice. You are solely responsible for any and all data, including, without limitation, encrypted data that is sent to, stored on or retrieved from any server utilized in providing the Internet Service to you. We make no representations or warranties regarding the viability, integrity or robustness of any encryption used by Citynet or its suppliers. Citynet shall have no liability whatsoever for any claims, losses, actions, damages, suits or proceedings resulting from, arising out of or otherwise relating to access by others to your data. You assume all privacy and other risks associated with providing personally identifiable information to third parties via the Internet Service.
Bandwidth Monitoring and Enforcement: We have no stated limits on usage at this time, but may implement such usage limits in the future. Any usage of bandwidth that interferes with the efficient operation of our network shall be deemed excessive for purposes of this provision. Subscriber acknowledges and agrees that Citynet shall have the right to monitor the “bandwidth” utilization (i.e. volume of data transmitted) arising out of the Internet Service provided hereunder at any time and on an on-going basis. In its sole discretion, Citynet may: (i) limit excessive use of bandwidth; (ii) suspend or terminate your account for excessive use of bandwidth; (iii) require you to upgrade your service level and pay additional fees in accordance with Citynet’s then-current price list; (iv) require the payment of one and a half times the Internet Service charges for past excessive bandwidth usage; and/or (v) otherwise require the payment of high bandwidth usage fees. If Citynet determines that Subscriber has failed to comply with Citynet’s Acceptable Use Policy or limits on bandwidth utilization, Citynet may suspend or terminate Subscriber’s account immediately without prior notification. Citynet may also immediately suspend or terminate Subscriber’s account for using the Internet Service to post content to the Internet that violates the Acceptable Use Policy. If Subscriber’s account is suspended, Subscriber will not be charged for that period of time. If Subscriber’s account is terminated, Subscriber will be refunded any pre-paid fees minus any amount due to Citynet for Citynet Equipment or other applicable fees and charges. For more information regarding Citynet’s network management practices, please see the Network Management Disclosure on the Website at http://citynet.net/about/legal.
Inappropriate Content and Transmissions: Citynet reserves the right, but not the obligation, to refuse to transmit or post and to remove or block any information or materials, in whole or in part, that it, in its sole discretion, deems to be offensive, indecent, or otherwise inappropriate, and regardless of whether this material or its dissemination is unlawful. Neither Citynet nor any of its suppliers have any obligation to monitor transmissions or postings (including, but not limited to, email, newsgroup, and instant message transmissions) made on the Internet Service. However, Citynet and its suppliers have the right to monitor these transmissions and postings from time to time for violations of this Acceptable Use Policy and to disclose, block, or remove them in accordance with the Residential Subscriber Agreement and any other applicable agreements and policies.
Electronic Mail: The Internet Service may not be used to send unsolicited bulk or commercial messages and may not be used to collect responses from unsolicited email sent from accounts on other Internet hosts or email services that violate this Acceptable Use Policy or the acceptable use policy of any other Internet service provider. Activities that have the effect of facilitating unsolicited commercial email or unsolicited bulk email, whether or not the email is commercial in nature, are prohibited. Forging, altering, or removing electronic mail headers is prohibited. You may not reference Citynet or the Citynet network (e.g. by including “Organization: ” in the header or by listing an IP address that belongs to the network) in any unsolicited email even if that email is not sent through the Citynet network or Internet Service.
Citynet is not responsible for forwarding email sent to any account that has been suspended or terminated. This email will be returned to the sender, ignored, deleted, or stored temporarily at Citynet’s sole discretion. In the event that Citynet believes in its sole discretion that any subscriber name, account name, or email address (collectively, an “identifier”) on the Internet Service may be used for, or is being used for, any misleading, fraudulent, or other improper or illegal purpose, Citynet (i) reserves the right to block access to and prevent the use of any such identifier and (ii) may at any time require any subscriber to change his or her identifier. In addition, Citynet may at any time reserve any identifiers on the Internet Service for its own purposes.
Citynet offers unlimited email storage subject to the terms of the Residential Subscriber Agreement and this Acceptable Use Policy. In addition to any other remedy stated herein, Citynet reserves the right to assess a fee if, in its sole discretion, you email storage is deemed excessive. Citynet similarly may limit the size of any individual email message or attachment, if in Citynet’s sole discretion, it is considered excessive.
Newsgroups: Messages posted to newsgroups must comply with the written charters or frequently asked questions for those newsgroups as well as any other terms and conditions applicable to any particular newsgroups or provider of newsgroups. Advertisements, solicitations, or other commercial messages should be posted only in those newsgroups whose charters or frequently asked questions explicitly permit them. You are responsible for determining the policies of a given newsgroup before posting to it. Citynet reserves the right to discontinue access to any newsgroup at any time for any reason.
Instant Messages and Social Media: You alone are responsible for the contents and the consequences of any instant messages or social media activities. Citynet assumes no responsibility for the timeliness, delivery or mis-delivery, deletion or failure to store instant messages or social media content.
Violation of Acceptable Use Policy: Citynet does not routinely monitor the activity of Internet Service accounts for violation of this Acceptable Use Policy. However, in Citynet’s efforts to promote good citizenship within the Internet community, Citynet will respond appropriately if Citynet becomes aware of inappropriate use of the Internet Service. Although Citynet has no obligation to monitor the Internet Service and/or the network, Citynet and its suppliers reserve the right at any time to monitor bandwidth, usage, transmissions, and content from time to time to operate the Internet Service; to identify violations of this Acceptable Use Policy; and/or to protect the network, the Internet Service and Citynet users.
Citynet prefers to advise customers of inappropriate behavior and any necessary corrective action. However, if the Internet Service is used in a way that Citynet or its suppliers, in their sole discretion, believe violate this Acceptable Use Policy, Citynet or its suppliers may take any responsive actions they deem appropriate. These actions include, but are not limited to, temporary or permanent removal of content, cancellation of newsgroup posts, filtering of Internet transmissions, and the immediate suspension or termination of all or any portion of the Internet Service. Neither Citynet nor its affiliates, suppliers, or agents will have any liability for any these responsive actions. The above described actions are not Citynet’s exclusive remedies and Citynet may take any other legal or technical action it deems appropriate.
Citynet reserves the right to investigate suspected violations of this Acceptable Use Policy, including the gathering of information from the subscribers or users involved and the complaining party, if any, and examination of material on Citynet’s servers and network and those of Citynet’s suppliers used in delivering service. During an investigation, Citynet may suspend the account or accounts involved and/or remove or block material that potentially violates this Acceptable Use Policy. You hereby authorize Citynet and its suppliers to cooperate with (i) law enforcement authorities in the investigation of suspected legal violations and (ii) and system administrators at other Internet service providers or other network or computing facilities in order to enforce this Acceptable Use Policy. This cooperation may include Citynet providing information about you to law enforcement or system administrators, including, but not limited to, username, subscriber name, IP address, and other account information. Upon termination of your account, Citynet is authorized to delete any files, programs, and email messages associated with your account. The failure of Citynet or its suppliers to enforce this Acceptable Use Policy, for whatever reason, shall not be construed as a waiver of any right to do so at any time. You agree that if any portion of this Policy is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion will be construed consistent with applicable law as nearly as possible, and the remaining portions will remain in full force and effect.
