Legal

Terms of Use

COPAA Terms of Use (TOU). Discover the rules for using our African social network based on honor, sovereignty, and solidarity.

COPAA (Connecting People Around Africa) is a microblogging and community services platform dedicated to the peoples of the African continent. It allows posting short messages ("cops"), sharing ideas, projects, personal experiences, promoting local cultures, finding employment, contributing to social causes, and dialoguing with other African citizens or diaspora members. COPAA aims to be a Pan-African technological response to the needs for expression, solidarity, and digital empowerment.

1.2 — Acceptance of Terms of Use

Using the COPAA application implies full and complete acceptance of these Terms of Use (TOU). This acceptance is formalized upon registration on the platform. The user declares having read all TOU clauses and agrees to respect them throughout their use of the application. Any update to the TOU will be notified to the user by email or via notification in the application.

1.3 — Target audience

COPAA is intended for anyone residing on the African continent or in its diaspora, aged at least 13 years (or the age of digital majority defined by local law). Minors must have authorization from their legal representative. COPAA encourages conscious, responsible, and respectful participation from users, regardless of their education level, origin, or culture.

1.4 — Platform objectives

COPAA's main objective is to connect Africans together, beyond borders, through a platform designed for their reality. It aims to:

Promote constructive free expression.
Stimulate social and local entrepreneurship.
Promote African cultural diversity.
Strengthen digital inclusion.
Create a supportive, dignified, and autonomous community.

1.5 — Applicable legal framework

COPAA respects the digital legislation in force in each African country where the application is used. It also complies with international personal data protection standards, such as the European GDPR for diaspora members. COPAA is committed to collaborating with local authorities while respecting freedom of expression, privacy, and fundamental digital rights.

CHAPTER 2: ACCOUNT CREATION AND TYPES

2.1 — Standard Account

The Standard account is the entry point for all new COPAA users. This account allows everyone to familiarize themselves with the platform ecosystem in a fair and progressive manner. It provides access to basic features:

Publication of one cop (message) every 24 hours.
Limit of 280 characters per cop.
Inability to publish images, videos, or use private messaging.
Mandatory community rating via the baobab leaf system.
Progression to Trust account from 500 accumulated points.

This account aims to encourage quality of expression rather than quantity, and to establish a climate of benevolent meritocracy within the community.

2.2 — Trust Account

The Trust account is automatically granted to a user once they reach 500 merit points obtained from the community through the quality, regularity, and relevance of their publications. This status opens access to advanced features:

Up to 3 cops every 24 hours.
Ability to add an image or video to each publication.
Access to private messaging.
A trust badge appears next to the username.
Right to rate other users' content with greater impact.

This status symbolizes community recognition and reinforces the role of active ambassador for proper COPAA use.

2.3 — Trust PRO Account

The Trust PRO account is intended for verified African public figures, such as:

Political leaders.
Business executives.
NGO leaders.
Recognized athletes, artists, and intellectuals.

These users must first go through a Standard account, then evolve according to the same rules up to Trust level. This path guarantees equal treatment on the platform and reinforces the legitimacy of their status. Once Trust PRO, they access a dedicated expression space (COPAA VOICE), with additional features for debating, publishing official messages, and dialoguing with citizens.

2.4 — Authentication and required information

Registration on COPAA requires providing accurate, verifiable information that respects local laws. This data includes, at minimum:

A unique identifier (username).
A valid email address or phone number.
Optional geographic location for contextual content.
A preferred language for the interface.

Any fraudulent account or one containing false information may be suspended or deleted without notice.

2.5 — Account termination and deletion

The user can temporarily deactivate or permanently delete their account at any time via settings. In case of serious TOU violation, COPAA reserves the right to:

Suspend an account for investigation.
Temporarily reduce certain features.
Demote a Trust user.
Permanently delete an account after repeated warnings.

Every decision is made with transparency and, when possible, dialogue.

CHAPTER 3: USER COMMITMENTS

3.1 — Respect for others

The user commits to adopting respectful, dignified, and responsible behavior across all COPAA spaces. They are prohibited from making or relaying statements:

Inciting racial, ethnic, religious, or sexual hatred.
Calling for physical or psychological violence.
That are humiliating, defamatory, harassing, or mocking.
That undermine human dignity or the memory of individuals.

Any content failing this ethical standard may be removed without notice, and the author sanctioned.

3.2 — Authenticity and truthfulness of publications

The user is responsible for the information they publish on COPAA. They commit to:

Not deliberately spreading false information (fake news).
Verifying sources before publishing any fact presented as real.
Not manipulating images, videos, or content for disinformation purposes.

The baobab leaf community rating system also serves to evaluate the quality, truthfulness, and usefulness of content. COPAA implements collaborative reporting mechanisms, human moderation, and automatic information cross-checking.

3.3 — Personal and non-abusive use

The COPAA platform is designed for individual, non-commercial, and non-automated use. It is therefore prohibited:

To open multiple accounts to manipulate ratings or debates.
To use robots, scripts, or automated services to publish or interact.
To mass-send messages, invitations, or unsolicited content.

Behaviors similar to spam or hidden campaigns will be investigated and sanctioned according to the TOU.

3.4 — Respect for African cultures and traditions

The user commits to promoting African cultures without distorting them. They will avoid:

Using traditional symbols in an offensive or inappropriate manner.
Ridiculing local dialects, clothing, rituals, or ways of life.
Diverting or caricaturing African spiritual beliefs.

COPAA encourages creative freedom, but within a framework where cultural diversity is a collective wealth to be preserved.

3.5 — Sanctions for non-compliance

In case of non-compliance with the above commitments, COPAA may apply the following measures:

Personalized warning with reminder of COPAA ethics.
Deletion of offending content without public debate.
Temporary account suspension, with or without access to community functions.
Status demotion (Trust to Standard).
Permanent ban in case of recurrence or serious breach of fundamental values.

CHAPTER 4: COPAA RESPONSIBILITIES

4.1 — Guarantee of accessibility and service continuity

COPAA is committed to providing a stable, reliable, and accessible service to all its users. This includes:

24/7 technical availability, except in case of scheduled maintenance or force majeure.
Performance optimization on low-bandwidth networks.
Adaptation to entry-level mobile devices, widely used on the African continent.
An inclusive and multilingual interface, to leave no user behind.

4.2 — Community and ethical moderation

COPAA applies a hybrid moderation model:

Automated, to block violent, pornographic, or dangerous content.
Community-based, via the publication rating system by users (baobab leaves).
Human, with a team of moderators distributed across several African linguistic zones.

Moderation is not used to censor ideas, but to guarantee a framework of mutual respect.

4.3 — Protection of minors and sensitive audiences

COPAA implements measures to protect young people and vulnerable audiences:

Automatic filtering of content reported as inappropriate.
Blocking certain keywords in minor user profiles.
Manual selection of content for the "My Africa" space intended for under-18s.
Active awareness through educational and preventive messages.

4.4 — Political and community neutrality

COPAA is an independent platform, without political, religious, or commercial affiliation. It does not favor any candidate, party, or political movement and guarantees equal treatment in expression spaces.

CHAPTER 5: PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION

5.1 — Collection and processing

Data is collected in accordance with COPAA's privacy policy. It serves to ensure service operation, personalize user experience, and secure the platform.

Each user is informed of the purpose of data collection and can manage their privacy preferences from their profile.

5.3 — Security and hosting

Encryption of sensitive communications.
Priority hosting on African infrastructure compliant with international standards.
Regular backups and proactive monitoring.

5.4 — User rights

Access, modification, and deletion of personal data.
Data portability on request.
Ability to withdraw consent at any time.

CHAPTER 6: FINANCES, MONETIZATION, AND TRANSACTIONS

6.1 — In-app purchases

Purchases of books, premium modules, or exclusive content are made via secure payment providers. COPAA does not directly store banking data.

6.2 — Community rewards

Baobab leaves and merit points can provide access to benefits (badges, visibility, feature access). However, they have no monetary value outside the platform.

6.3 — Financial transparency

COPAA is committed to informing users of any paid feature, subscription, or commission charged on transactions.

CHAPTER 7: DIGITAL SECURITY AND SOVEREIGNTY

7.1 — Fighting abuse

Automated and human detection of hate speech, calls for violence, scams, and fraud.
Immediate suspension in case of serious threat.

7.2 — Collaboration with authorities

COPAA cooperates with local authorities when required by law, while defending the fundamental right to privacy.

7.3 — Continuous education

COPAA EDUC offers video capsules, podcasts, and quizzes to raise user awareness about cybersecurity, disinformation, and digital sovereignty.

7.4 — Data hosting in Africa

COPAA is committed to hosting user data primarily on servers located on the African continent to strengthen digital sovereignty, optimize geographic proximity, and comply with local laws.

7.5 — Cross-border responsibility and arbitration

Application of the law of the main country of connection for nomadic or expatriate users.
Creation of a Pan-African ethics committee to resolve conflicts.
Implementation of a community arbitration mechanism before any legal recourse.

CHAPTER 8: CONTENT & COPYRIGHT

8.1 — Ownership of user content

The user remains fully owner of all original content they publish on COPAA (texts, photos, videos, artistic creations). COPAA does not claim any intellectual property rights over this content.

8.2 — License of use granted to COPAA

By default, publication gives COPAA the right:

To broadcast content in streams visible to the community.
To temporarily use it for internal illustration purposes.
To include it in consultable archives for a reasonable duration.

COPAA cannot resell or transfer this content to a third party without explicit agreement and does not authorize reproduction outside the platform without the author's consent.

8.3 — Respect for image rights and privacy

The user commits to publishing only content they have authored or hold the rights to, and to obtain consent from visible persons. Any person appearing in content may request its immediate removal.

8.4 — Fighting plagiarism, counterfeiting, and abuse

It is prohibited to:

Reproduce all or part of protected works without authorization.
Plagiarize content from other platforms.
Use celebrity images, logos, or brands without rights.

In case of violation, COPAA removes the content, notifies the user, and may suspend or delete the account in case of recurrence.

8.5 — Deletion and right to erasure

Any user can request at any time the deletion of content they have published or the complete erasure of their personal content. COPAA is committed to processing these requests within a reasonable timeframe, unless legally required to retain them.

CHAPTER 9: SPECIFIC FEATURES & MODERATION

9.1 — Community rating system (Baobab leaves)

Each cop can be rated via a baobab leaf system (1 to 5). Accumulated points allow access to new features and strengthen exchange quality.

9.2 — "Cop" function (publications)

The cop is the basic publication format. It can contain:

Text only for Standard accounts.
Text + 1 image or video for Trust accounts.

Each cop has a limited lifespan of 48 hours, unless personally archived.

9.3 — "My Africa" Gallery

Exclusive to Trust accounts, it allows publishing up to two photos per day highlighting African cultural diversity. Photos are visible for 24 hours and cannot be commented on or downloaded.

9.4 — Customizable settings

Each user can configure their experience: visual theme, font size, dark mode, visible content types, notifications, and display language.

9.5 — Human moderation and ethical AI

Moderation relies on:

AI that detects dangerous behaviors.
A multicultural human team distributed across Africa.
The Trust community that can report, validate, or block content.

Any moderation action is documented, proportionate, and reversible in case of error.

Use the integrated assistance form in the application.
Send an email to support@copaa.africa.
Request mediation through the COPAA ethics committee (experienced users, lawyers, community representatives).

In case of serious dispute not resolved amicably, legal jurisdiction is that of the user's main country of connection, unless otherwise agreed.