• This policy, herein referred to as the "Policy," establishes regulations governing your utilization of the Services provided by ProTaxHub. ("ProTaxHub," "we," "us," or "our"), inclusive of access via our clients’ platforms or websites (the "Services"). The illustrations provided in this Policy are not exhaustive.
• We retain the right to suspend, terminate, or implement other interim measures concerning your access to or usage of the Services if, in our sole discretion, we determine that you have, directly or indirectly, contravened this Policy or aided or abetted others in doing so.
• We reserve the right to amend this Policy periodically by posting an updated version on our website. Your use of the Services constitutes agreement to the latest rendition of this Policy.

General Regulations/Specifications

• It is universally expected that the messages and communications we intend to transmit and receive will successfully reach their intended recipients without obstruction from filters or other impediments. A crucial measure towards realizing this expectation is to avert undesired communications by exclusively dispatching messages and communications that adhere to relevant laws and standards within the communications industry. Consequently, all communications stemming from your utilization of the Services (comprising but not restricted to SMS, MMS, webchat, voice, and similar messaging channels facilitated through the Services) are subject to, and must comply with, this Policy, delineating specific regulations and/or prohibitions regarding: Consent ("opt-in"); Revocation of Consent ("opt-out"); Sender identification; Messaging Usage; Prohibited Content; Filtering Evasion; and Enforcement.

Consent Stipulations

• Standard Consent Stipulations. Before dispatching the initial message to an individual, you must secure agreement from the message recipient to engage in communication – referred to as "consent." It is imperative to explicitly communicate to the individual that they are consenting to receive messages of the nature you intend to send.
• A record of the consent must be maintained, such as a copy of the document or form signed by the message recipient, or a timestamp indicating when the customer completed a sign-up process or provided consent in another manner. This consent record must be preserved in accordance with local regulations or best practices subsequent to the end user opting out of receiving messages.
• If you fail to dispatch an initial message to that individual within a reasonable timeframe subsequent to obtaining consent (or as specified by local regulations or best practices), you must reaffirm consent in the first message sent to that recipient.
• The consent is exclusive to you and the specific purpose for which the recipient has granted consent. Consent cannot be purchased, sold, or traded. For instance, obtaining consent from message recipients via the acquisition of a phone list from a third party is impermissible. Furthermore, it cannot be construed as blanket consent enabling the dispatch of messages from other brands or companies you may be associated with, or additional messages pertaining to purposes for which consent has not been obtained.
• Alternative Consent Stipulations. While consent is invariably requisite and the aforementioned consent stipulations are generally the most prudent approach, there exist two scenarios wherein consent can be obtained differently.
• Contact initiated by an individual: In instances where an individual initiates contact with you, you may respond within the confines of that interaction. For instance, if an individual texts your phone number inquiring about your business hours, you can directly respond to that individual, furnishing information regarding your operating hours. In such instances, the inbound message from the individual constitutes both consent and proof of consent. It is crucial to recognize that consent is limited solely to that particular conversation, and unless additional consent is obtained, messages beyond the scope of that conversation should not be dispatched.
• Informational content to an individual based on a prior relationship: You may dispatch a message to an individual with whom you have a pre-existing relationship, provided that individual has furnished you with their phone number, has initiated some action triggering potential communication, and has not opted out or indicated a preference to refrain from receiving messages.
• Actions qualifying for this scenario encompass button presses, setting up alerts, scheduling appointments, or placing orders. Examples of permissible messages under these circumstances include appointment reminders, receipts, one-time passwords, order/shipping/reservation confirmations, coordination of pick-up locations between drivers and riders, and service call time confirmations by repair personnel. Notably, the message cannot endeavor to promote a product, solicit a purchase, or advocate for a social cause.

Periodic Messages and Ongoing Consent

• If your intention is to regularly dispatch messages to a recipient, you should affirm the recipient’s consent by offering a clear reminder of how to unsubscribe from such messages using standard opt-out language (defined below). Furthermore, you must honor the message recipient’s preferences regarding the frequency of contact and should proactively solicit individuals to reaffirm their consent in accordance with local regulations and best practices.

Identifying Yourself as the Sender

• Every message dispatched must distinctly identify you (the party obtaining opt-in consent from the recipient) as the sender, except in follow-up messages within an ongoing conversation.

Opt-out

• The initial message to an individual must incorporate the following language: "Reply STOP to unsubscribe," or an equivalent utilizing another standard opt-out keyword, such as STOP, STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, and QUIT.
• Individuals must possess the capability to revoke consent at any time by replying with a standard opt-out keyword. Upon an individual opting out, you may deliver one final message confirming the opt-out has been processed, but subsequent messages are prohibited. Additional messages can only be dispatched once the individual provides consent anew.

Prohibited Content

• You agree not to utilize the Services, or encourage, promote, facilitate, or instruct others to utilize the Services, for dispatching messages containing, offering, promoting, referencing, or linking to any information or content pertaining to the following:
• Solicitations or Advertising. Any messages, communication, promotions, advertising, or solicitations (resembling "spam"), inclusive of commercial advertising and informational announcements, that are unsolicited or lack proper consent from the intended recipient. If you are a customer of any ProTaxHub Client, this encompasses using the Services to transmit such messages, communication, or announcements to a ProTaxHub Client or any other individual or entity.
• Illegal, Harmful, or Fraudulent Activities. Activities that are unlawful, violate the rights of others, or may be detrimental to others, our operations, or reputation, encompassing but not confined to offering, promoting, disseminating, or facilitating:
• child pornography, child sexual abuse material, or other sexually exploitative content;
• fraudulent goods, services, schemes, or promotions;
• "get-rich-quick" schemes (comprising work-from-home programs, high-risk financial services, and pyramid schemes);
• phishing or pharming.
• Infringing Content. Content infringing on or misappropriating the intellectual property or proprietary rights of others.
• Offensive Content. Content characterized by harassment, defamation, obscenity, abuse, invasion of privacy, or other objectionable elements.
• Harmful Content. Content or other computer technology with the potential to cause damage, interfere with, surreptitiously intercept, or expropriate any system, program, or data, or otherwise precipitate a security breach, inclusive of viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, or cancelbots.
• Evasive Content. Content designed to intentionally evade filters, detection, or monitoring.

Prohibited Industries

• If utilizing ProTaxHub’s Payment Services, you are prohibited from employing the services in conjunction with activities classified as Prohibited Industries, as defined in your respective Services agreement.

Message Abuse; Falsification of Identity or Origin

• You are prohibited from dispatching messages using spam bots or similar systems, altering or obscuring mail headers, providing false identification, or assuming a sender’s identity without explicit permission. Additionally, you may not create a false identity or attempt to mislead others regarding the identity of the sender or the origin of any data or communications.

Evasion

• The Services may not be utilized to circumvent ProTaxHub’s (including our subcontractor’s) or a telecommunications provider’s mechanisms for detecting and preventing unwanted messaging. Prohibited practices encompass:
• Content devised to evade detection. As delineated above, content specifically contrived to bypass mechanisms for detecting and preventing unwanted messaging is prohibited. This encompasses intentionally misspelled words or non-standard opt-out phrases created with the intention to circumvent these mechanisms.
• Snowshoeing. The practice of disseminating similar or identical messages across numerous phone numbers with the intention or outcome of circumventing mechanisms for detecting and preventing unwanted messaging is not permitted.
• Utilization of shared public URL shorteners. When employing a web address (i.e., Uniform Resource Locator (URL)) shortener, links should not be shortened using shared public URL shorteners such as Bitly or TinyURL. If incorporating shortened URLs in messages, it is recommended to utilize a dedicated short domain.

Reverse Engineering and Associated Restrictions

• You are prohibited from (a) modifying or creating derivative works of the Services or any portion thereof; (b) reverse engineering, disassembling, decompiling, translating, or otherwise seeking to obtain or derive the source code, underlying ideas, algorithms, file formats, or non-public APIs to any Services, except to the extent expressly permitted by applicable law and with advance notice to ProTaxHub; (c) circumventing any security measures or rate limits for the Services; or (d) removing or concealing any proprietary or other notices contained in the Services, including in any reports or output obtained from the Services.

Our Monitoring and Enforcement

• We reserve the right, albeit without assuming the obligation, to monitor content transmitted through the Services and investigate any violations of this Policy or misuse of the Services. We may remove or disable access to any user, content, or resource contravening this Policy or any other agreement governing your use of the Services. Suspected violations of any law or regulation may be reported to appropriate law enforcement agencies, regulators, or other relevant third parties. Our reporting may encompass divulging pertinent customer information. Furthermore, we may collaborate with appropriate law enforcement agencies, regulators, or other relevant third parties to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of illicit conduct by furnishing network and systems information related to alleged breaches of this Policy.

Reporting Violations

• If you become aware of any breaches of this Policy, you are required to promptly notify us and furnish assistance, as requested, to cease or rectify the violation.

Policy Source

• This Policy is provided for informational purposes and is subject to change without notice. For the latest version of this Policy, please visit our website.