Reporting Content (DSA and DMCA)

1. Our status under the DSA

[Aligner, Inc.] provides a hosting service and an online platform within the meaning of the EU Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, the DSA). Aligner is not a very large online platform or search engine.

Some DSA duties do not apply to micro and small enterprises. [Whether Aligner qualifies, and which duties that removes, is to be confirmed.] We describe our processes here in full regardless.

2. Points of contact

3. Reporting illegal content

Use the report option on any request, profile, evidence item or message, or email [dsa@aligner.network]. A notice should include:

• why you believe the content is illegal;
• the exact location of the content, such as its URL;
• your name and email address, unless the report concerns child sexual abuse material;
• a statement that you believe in good faith that the report is accurate and complete.

We confirm receipt, review the notice diligently and objectively, and tell you what we decided and how to seek redress.

4. Trusted flaggers

Notices from entities awarded trusted flagger status under DSA Art. 22 are handled with priority. Trusted flaggers should identify themselves in the notice.

5. Restrictions we may impose

When content is illegal or breaks our Terms of Service or Acceptable Use Policy, we may:

• remove content or disable access to it;
• lower its visibility, or remove a contributor from matching;
• pause new funding or payouts, within what the escrow contract allows;
• suspend or close an account;
• report the matter to the authorities where the law requires it.

6. Statement of reasons

When we restrict your content or account, we tell you, unless the law prevents it or the content is deceptive high-volume commercial content. The statement of reasons (DSA Art. 17) explains:

• what we restricted and for how long;
• the facts we relied on, and whether the action followed a notice or our own review;
• whether we used automated means to detect or decide (our matching and enforcement are rule-based and reviewed by people);
• the law or the term that was broken;
• how you can complain or seek redress.

7. Complaints

If you disagree with a decision on a notice or a restriction, you can complain for free within 6 months of being told about it. Reply to the decision or email [dsa@aligner.network].

A person not involved in the original decision reviews it. We aim to respond within 14 days, and we reverse the decision if the complaint shows it was wrong.

Out-of-court dispute settlement

You may also take the decision to an out-of-court dispute settlement body certified under DSA Art. 21. We will engage with it in good faith.

Courts

None of this limits your right to go to court.

8. Misuse of these processes

After a warning, we may suspend for a reasonable period accounts that frequently post manifestly illegal content, and stop processing notices or complaints from people who frequently send manifestly unfounded ones (DSA Art. 23).

9. How matching works

Matching is rule-based. It does not use artificial intelligence, behavioral profiling or paid placement. It suggests contributors for a request; the team makes the final choice.

The main parameters, in order of how much they matter:

1. Discovery consent: only contributors who turned on Appear in matching are considered.
2. Request requirements: the capabilities, languages and checks the team requires. A contributor who does not meet a required item is not shown.
3. Availability: usual weekly hours and the overlap between the contributor's call window and the team's.
4. Evidence and track record: relevant capability evidence and paid work in the same capability.
5. Newcomer openness: if the team marks the request open to newcomers, contributors without a track record are not ranked lower for that reason.

You can influence your ranking by keeping availability current, adding evidence for your capabilities, completing the checks requests ask for, and completing paid work. Nobody can pay for a higher position.

Each result shows which requirements it met, so a team can see why someone was suggested.

10. Advertising

Aligner shows no advertising and does not use your data to target ads.

11. Transparency reporting

[Whether and when Aligner publishes DSA transparency reports is to be confirmed.]

12. Copyright notices (DMCA)

Aligner responds to notices of copyright infringement under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Our designated agent is [Designated DMCA agent name, address and registration number], reachable at [copyright@aligner.network].

A notice must include (17 U.S.C. §512(c)(3)):

• a physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or a person authorized to act for them;
• identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed;
• identification of the infringing material and enough information to locate it;
• your contact information;
• a statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorized by the owner, its agent or the law;
• a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the notice is accurate and that you are authorized to act for the owner.

Counter-notice

If your material was removed and you believe that was a mistake, you may send a counter-notice with your signature, the material and its former location, a statement under penalty of perjury that it was removed by mistake or misidentification, your contact details, and your consent to the jurisdiction of the relevant federal court. We may restore the material 10 to 14 business days later unless the claimant tells us it has filed a court action.

Repeat infringers

We close the accounts of Users who repeatedly infringe copyright, in appropriate circumstances.

Copyright reports from the EU are also handled as DSA notices under the process above.

13. Contact summary

Version history

1. Version 1.0 (draft)[Publication date]First draft for counsel review.