Acceptable Use Policy

§01.1 Who and what this Policy covers

This Acceptable Use Policy applies to all use of Netelkaar's Services, and in particular to any service where Customer runs, hosts, or transmits its own content or workloads on Netelkaar's infrastructure (including VPS, Dedicated Servers, and, where relevant, Colocation). It forms part of the Terms of Service and any applicable Service Annex.

This Policy applies to Customer, to anyone Customer authorises or permits to use the Services, and to any traffic, content, or activity originating from Customer's Services or equipment.

§01.2 General rule

Customer shall not use the Services in any manner that violates applicable law, infringes the rights of third parties, threatens the security or stability of Netelkaar's network or other customers' services, or otherwise disrupts the operation of the Services.

The specific prohibitions in this Policy are illustrative, not exhaustive. Netelkaar may determine, on the basis of objective evidence and reasonable judgement, whether particular use falls within or outside the scope of acceptable use.

§01.3 Customer responsibility

Customer is responsible for all activity carried out through its Services. Where Customer allows third parties (including its own customers or end-users) to use the Services, Customer remains responsible for ensuring their compliance with this Policy and shall require materially equivalent obligations from them.

§02.1 Illegal content

Customer shall not use the Services to store, host, transmit, or make available any content that is illegal under applicable law, including content that:

• constitutes or facilitates child sexual abuse material (CSAM) — see §02.2;
• incites or facilitates terrorism, violence, or serious criminal activity;
• infringes the intellectual-property rights of third parties (see §06);
• is defamatory, harassing, or unlawfully discriminatory under applicable law;
• violates the privacy or data-protection rights of any person;
• is otherwise prohibited by mandatory provisions of Dutch, EU, or other applicable law.

§02.2 Child sexual abuse material — zero tolerance

Netelkaar operates a zero-tolerance policy towards child sexual abuse material. Any Service found to store, host, or transmit such material will be suspended immediately and without prior notice, and Netelkaar will report the matter to the competent authorities as required by law. This is a material breach justifying immediate termination under §07.4 of the Terms.

§02.3 Malware and harmful code

Customer shall not use the Services to create, store, or distribute malware, ransomware, viruses, or other malicious code intended to damage, disrupt, or gain unauthorised access to any system, save for legitimate security research conducted lawfully and within a controlled environment that does not affect third parties or Netelkaar's infrastructure.

§02.4 Customer-generated and third-party content

Where Customer hosts content provided by its own users or third parties, Customer is responsible for that content under this Policy and for compliance with its own obligations as an intermediary or hosting provider (see §07). Netelkaar provides the underlying infrastructure and does not monitor the content Customer hosts, save as required by law or in response to a credible report.

§03.1 Network and messaging abuse

Customer shall not, and shall not permit any third party to, use the Services to:

• send unsolicited bulk or commercial communications (spam), or operate in a way that results in Netelkaar's IP addresses being listed on reputable block-lists;
• conduct phishing, pharming, or other fraudulent or deceptive activity;
• operate open mail relays, open proxies, or open recursive resolvers in a manner that facilitates abuse;
• distribute malware or direct users to malicious resources.

§03.2 Attacks and unauthorised access

Customer shall not use the Services to:

• perform unauthorised access to, scanning of, or attacks on any third-party system;
• originate or participate in denial-of-service (DoS or DDoS) activity;
• intercept, monitor, or interfere with traffic or data not intended for Customer;
• circumvent the authentication, security, or access controls of any system.

§03.3 Sanctions and export control

Customer shall not use the Services in violation of any sanctions, embargoes, or export-control measures imposed by the European Union, the United Nations, the Netherlands, or other applicable jurisdictions, nor for, on behalf of, or in connection with any sanctioned party or territory. This mirrors and supplements the sanctions provisions in the Terms (§03.4 and the sanctions clause of the Terms).

§03.4 High-risk and regulated uses

Certain uses may require prior written agreement because of the operational or legal risk they carry — for example, activities subject to specific financial-services, gambling, or telecommunications regulation. Where Customer intends such a use, Customer shall disclose it before commencement so that the parties can agree any necessary conditions. Cryptocurrency-related activity by Customer is subject to applicable law and to the identity-verification requirements in §10.

§04.1 Use within allocation

Customer shall use only the resources allocated to its Services as set out in the order, plan, or Individual Contract. Sustained consumption beyond the allocation, or use designed to extract resources beyond the allocation (for example, by exploiting a billing or metering flaw), is prohibited.

§04.2 Fair use of shared infrastructure

On shared infrastructure (such as VPS), Customer's use must not materially and unreasonably degrade the experience of other customers. Netelkaar may throttle, or require an upgrade for, use that does so, as set out in §18.5 of the Terms of Service.

§04.3 Infrastructure integrity

Customer shall not operate the Services in a way that creates a material risk of physical or operational damage to Netelkaar's or a partner data-centre's infrastructure, or that threatens the stability or security of the shared environment.

§05.1 Customer's own security

Customer is responsible for the security of its own Services, including the operating system, applications, configuration, credentials, and data, unless a managed-service option is expressly agreed. Customer shall apply reasonable security measures, keep software updated, and respond promptly to security issues affecting its Services.

§05.2 Compromised systems

Where a Service is compromised (for example, taken over to send spam or participate in an attack), Netelkaar may suspend or restrict the affected Service to protect the network and third parties, in accordance with §08. Customer shall cooperate in remediating the compromise before the Service is restored.

§05.3 No interference with protective measures

Customer shall not circumvent or interfere with security, filtering, or abuse-prevention measures applied by Netelkaar or its partners, nor with measures applied to protect other customers or the shared infrastructure.

§06.1 No infringing use

Customer shall not use the Services to store, host, or distribute material that infringes the copyright, trademark, or other intellectual-property rights of any third party.

§06.2 Reporting infringement

Rightholders who believe that material accessible through a Netelkaar Service infringes their rights may submit a notice to abuse@netelkaar.com. The notice should identify the rightholder, the allegedly infringing material and its location, the rights claimed, and contact details, and should confirm the good faith and accuracy of the report.

§06.3 Handling of notices

On receipt of a credible notice, Netelkaar will, as appropriate, forward it to the relevant Customer for response within a reasonable time, and may take action under §08 where the matter is not resolved or where the infringement is clear. Because Netelkaar provides the underlying infrastructure rather than operating the content service, the primary responsibility for assessing and responding to a notice generally rests with the Customer hosting the material.

§07.1 Customer as intermediary or hosting provider

Where Customer uses the Services to host, transmit, or make available content provided by third parties (including end-users of Customer's own services), Customer is responsible for compliance with the obligations of providers of intermediary, hosting, or platform services under applicable law, including in particular:

• Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (the Digital Services Act, “DSA”), where applicable to Customer;
• the Dutch implementing legislation of the e-Commerce Directive and the DSA;
• any sector-specific obligations applicable to Customer's services.

§07.2 Notice-and-action mechanism

Where Customer is a “hosting service provider” within the meaning of Article 3(g)(iii) of the DSA, Customer shall maintain its own notice-and-action mechanism in accordance with Article 16 of the DSA, respond to lawful orders from competent authorities, and cooperate with users and rightholders concerning illegal content. Netelkaar provides the underlying infrastructure but does not act as the hosting service provider for content stored on or transmitted through Customer's services.

§07.3 Cascade through the contractual chain

This §07 cascades through Customer's contractual chain: Customer shall require its own customers and end-users to comply with materially equivalent obligations to the extent they themselves operate intermediary or hosting services.

§08.1 Graduated response

Where Netelkaar identifies use that, on the basis of objective evidence, breaches this Policy, Netelkaar will, where reasonably possible:

1. notify Customer of the issue and provide a reasonable opportunity to remedy it (the duration of which depends on the severity and the risk to third parties);
2. where the issue is not remedied within the notice period, suspend the affected Service or part of it;
3. where the breach is severe, persistent, or causes ongoing harm, terminate the Service in accordance with §07.4 of the Terms.

§08.2 Emergency suspension

In urgent cases — in particular where Customer's use creates an immediate risk to network security, to other customers, or to third parties, or where required by law (such as CSAM under §02.2) — Netelkaar may suspend or restrict the Services without prior notice and inform Customer immediately afterwards. Restoration follows resolution of the underlying issue.

§08.3 Effect on fees and refunds

Suspension or termination attributable to Customer's breach of this Policy does not relieve Customer of payment obligations for the period concerned, and no refund is due in respect of a Service suspended or terminated for breach of this Policy. This is without prejudice to the consumer protections in the Terms and the Refund & Withdrawal Policy.

§09.1 Abuse contact

Reports of abuse, illegal content, security incidents, or other breaches of this Policy may be submitted to abuse@netelkaar.com. Reports should include enough detail to identify the matter (for example, the IP address, domain, or Service concerned), the nature of the issue, and any supporting evidence.

§09.2 Handling of reports

Netelkaar reviews credible reports and acts proportionately, which may include forwarding the report to the relevant Customer for response, requesting remediation, or taking action under §08. Netelkaar prioritises reports according to the severity and the risk to third parties.

§09.3 Cooperation with authorities

Netelkaar cooperates with lawful requests and orders from competent authorities in accordance with applicable law, and may be required to preserve or disclose information in that context.

Netelkaar verifies the identity of customers and payers where required by applicable law, including anti-money-laundering law (in the Netherlands, the Wet ter voorkoming van witwassen en financieren van terrorisme, “Wwft”) and sanctions screening (see also the sanctions provisions of the Terms). Customer shall provide accurate and complete information reasonably requested for this purpose, and shall update it promptly when it changes. Where verification is required and cannot be completed, Netelkaar may decline, delay, or suspend the Service.