Terms of Service
Last Updated On December 5, 2023
BY CLICKING "I AGREE", COMPLETING THE REGISTRATION PROCESS, BROWSING THE SITE, USING THE SERVICES, SUBSCRIBING TO A PAID SERVICE WITH A RECURRING MONTHLY PAYMENT, AND/OR PRIOR TO DOWNLOADING, INSTALLING, OR USING THE APPLICATION, YOU REPRESENT AND WARRANT THAT (A) YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THIS AGREEMENT; (B) THAT YOU ARE 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER/OF LEGAL AGE TO ENTER INTO AND FORM A BINDING AGREEMENT WITH GROUND NEWS; AND (C) YOU ACCEPT THIS AGREEMENT AND AGREE THAT YOU ARE LEGALLY BOUND BY ITS TERMS. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS, DO NOT DOWNLOAD, INSTALL, OR USE THE APPLICATION AND DELETE IT FROM YOUR MOBILE DEVICE.
THE TERMS OF USE INCLUDE A CLASS ACTION WAIVER AND REQUIRE BINDING ARBITRATION ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS TO RESOLVE DISPUTES.
Please read these terms carefully before using any Ground News Service or product, as these terms affect your legal rights and include a binding arbitration agreement in Section 14.
We believe in transparency online. Please click on our Privacy Policy to go directly to our data policies and monetization disclosures, including how you can opt-out of certain settings.
This Terms of Service ("Agreement”, “Terms of Services”, and “Terms”) describes the terms and conditions that govern our users access and use of certain applications or website services provided to you under our Ground News platform, including GroundNews.com and mobile application services and tools (collectively, the “Site”), offered by Ground News and any of its affiliates, parent company, or subsidiaries over time (the “Services”). It is a binding agreement between you as the browsing, unpaid user or you as the premium, paid-account user of the Site and Services ("End User" or "you") and Snapwise Inc. d/b/a Ground News ("Ground News", “we”, or “us”). This Agreement governs your use of the Services on the Site and the Ground News mobile application (including all related documentation, the "Application"), whether as a guest or paid, registered user (“Subscriber”) or a purchaser of a gift subscription for another Subscriber. We offer three Subscriber options for paid user subscriptions, and the specific payment and features of each subscription level are maintained at the links below, subject to updating by us with notice to you or your gift-subscription recipient, in the Subscriber account, from time to time:
1. Vantage
2. Premium
3. Pro
1. General Rules and Definitions
1.1 We may change, add, or remove portions of these Terms of Service at any time in our sole discretion by notifying you of the change in writing (including by email to the email address you provided to us, contacting you in your Subscriber account, or by updating the date above after “Last Updated On”) and requiring that you review the updated Terms of Service when you next use our Site or Services. Such changes shall become effective immediately upon posting. It is your responsibility to review these Terms of Service prior to each use of the Site or Services. You shall be prompted to accept new terms upon your next subsequent use of the Site or Application after new terms are adopted and published by Ground News. If you do not agree to the new terms, you have the option not to do so, but you will not have access to the Application’s features and services.
1.2 IF ANY OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THESE TERMS OF SERVICE, OR ANY FUTURE CHANGES, ARE UNACCEPTABLE TO YOU, YOU MAY (i) CANCEL YOUR ACCOUNT (SEE THE SECTION REGARDING TERMINATION OF SERVICE) AND/OR (ii) DISCONTINUE YOUR USE OF GROUND NEWS SERVICES AND THE SITE.
1.3 We may change, suspend or discontinue any aspect of the Site or Services at any time, including the availability of the Site’s or Services’ feature, database, or content (collectively the “Content”). We may also impose limits on certain features and services or restrict your access to parts or all of the Site or Services without prior notice or liability. You accept our right to limit or cancel access parts or all of the Site or Services in these manners.
1.4 Being exposed to third-party articles’ advertising is a condition of accessing the third-party sites through the links presented by Services that Ground News application automatically curates for its users in accordance with applicable laws.
1.5 The Site, Application, and the Services and Content provided by Ground News via the Site and Application (collectively the “Company Properties”) are protected by copyright laws throughout the world, and we respect and comply with the copyright rights of any third-party authors of the Content. Unless otherwise specified by Ground News in a separate license, your right to use any Company Properties is subject to the Terms of Services. You accept and agree that you will not infringe upon the copyright rights of any third-party Content authors or of Ground News by using our Site, Application and Services, and you indemnify and hold harmless us for any and all of your intellectual property infringement or unauthorized use of intellectual property that is a result of your use of the Site, Application or Services, which infringement is a material breach of this Terms of Service.
2. License Grant
2.1 Subject to your compliance with the Terms of Services to this Agreement, Ground Newsgrants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-sublicensable, nontransferable, revocable license to:
(a) download, install, and use the Application for your personal, non-commercial use on a single device, or multiple devices, owned or otherwise controlled by you (each, individually, and all, collectively, referred to herein as the "Mobile Device") for your own personal or internal business purposes, strictly in accordance with the Application's documentation; and
(b) access, stream, download, and use on such Mobile Device of the Content and Services made available in or otherwise accessible through the Application, strictly in accordance with this Agreement and the Terms of Service applicable to such Content and Services.
2.2. Furthermore, with respect to any Application accessed through or downloaded from the Apple Application, Google Chrome Web Store, Google Play Marketplace, or any similar store or marketing place (each an “App Store”, including any of their respective subsidiaries making such App Store available to you), you agree to comply with all applicable third-party terms of the relevant App Store.
3. License Restrictions and Intellectual Property Rights
3.1 You shall not:
(a) copy the Company Properties, except as expressly permitted by this license;
(b) modify, translate, adapt, or otherwise create derivative works of, or improvements, whether or not patentable, of or to any part of the Company Properties;
(c) merge, reverse engineer, disassemble, decompile, decode, or otherwise attempt to derive or gain access to the source code of or to the Company Properties or any part thereof;
(d) remove, delete, alter, or obscure any copyright, trademark, patent, or other intellectual property or proprietary rights notices from the Company Properties, including any copy thereof; or
(e) rent, lease, lend, sell, sublicense, reproduce, host, assign, distribute, publish, transfer, or otherwise make available the Company Properties, or any features or functionality of the Company Properties, to any third party for any reason, including by making the Company Properties available on a network where it is capable of being accessed by more than one device at any time;
(f) access the Company Properties in order to build a similar or competitive website, application, or service;
(g) use any metatags or other “hidden text” using Ground News’ name or trademarks;
(h) frame or utilize framing techniques to enclose any trademark, logo, or other Company Properties (including images, texts, page layout or form) of Ground News
3.2 Copying or storing any Content for other than personal use is expressly prohibited without prior written permission from Ground News, or the copyright holder identified in the copyright notice contained in the Content.
3.3 The Site and Application are subject to modification and release of new features at all times and on a continuing basis, and these may contain message boards, chat rooms, personal web pages or profiles, forums, bulletin boards, and other interactive features (collectively “Interactive Services”) that may allow you to post, submit, publish, display, or transmit to other users or other persons (hereinafter “posts”) content or materials (collectively “User Contributions”) on or through the Site. All User Contributions must comply with (i) the mission and culture of Ground News provided in our “About”, “History”, and “Mission” web pages and any and all community standards of Ground News as may be published and modified from time to time, and (ii) intellectual property rights of Ground News and any third-party Content authors as set out in these Terms of Service. Any User Contribution you post to the site will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary. By providing any User Contribution on the Site, you grant us and our affiliated service providers, and each of their and our respective licensees, successors, and assigns (collectively “Third-Party Providers”) the worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, assignable, sublicensable, transferable, and non-exclusive license and right to use, reproduce, modify, perform, display, adapt, distribute, and otherwise disclose to third parties any such User Contributions as we see fit to maintain and improve the Site, Application and Services in any medium. You also grant us and our Third-Party Providers the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, assignable, transferable, sublicensable, non-exclusive right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display such User Contributions (in whole or part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed. You also agree that we, including our Third-Party Providers, may identify you as the author of any of your postings by name, email address or screen name as we see appropriate. You represent and warrant that:
3.3.1 You own or control all rights in and to the User Contributions and have the right to grant the license granted above to us and our affiliates and affiliated providers, and each of their and our respective licensees, successors, and assigns, or are making your submission with the express consent of the owner.
3.3.2 All of your User Contributions do and shall comply with these Terms of Service.
3.3.3 You understand and acknowledge that you are responsible for any User Contributions you submit or contribute, and you, not the Ground News, have full responsibility for such content, including its legality, reliability, accuracy, and appropriateness.
We are not responsible or liable to any third party for the content or accuracy of any User Contributions posted by you or any other user of the Site, and you agree to indemnify and hold harmless us for any third-party claim or damages that are resultant, directly or indirectly, of your User Contributions. We also reserve the right (but assume no obligation) to delete, move, or edit any User Content that comes to our attention that we consider unacceptable or inappropriate, whether for legal reasons, community standard concerns, or other reasons.
4 Reservation of Rights. You acknowledge and agree that the Company Properties are provided under license, and not sold, to you. You do not acquire any ownership interest in and to the Company Properties under this Agreement, or any other rights thereto other than to use the Company Properties in accordance with the license granted, and subject to all terms, conditions, and restrictions, under this Agreement. Ground News reserves and shall retain its entire right, title, and interest in and to the Company Properties, including all copyrights, trademarks, and other intellectual property rights therein or relating thereto, except as expressly granted to you in this Agreement. Ground News’ stylized name and other related graphics, logos, service marks and trade names used on or in connection with the Company Properties are the trademarks of the Ground News and may not be used without permission in connection with any third-party products or services. You further acknowledge and agree that all rights in and to your account are and shall forever be owned by and inure to the benefit of the Ground News.
5 Collection and Use of Your Information.
5.1 We respect and facilitate your exercise of data privacy rights. Please see our Privacy Policyto learn more about how we protect your rights, and you may exercise them during your use of our Site, Application, and Services. In summary,
5.1.1 You acknowledge that when you download, install, or use the Company Properties, Ground News may use automatic means (including, for example, cookies and web beacons) to collect information about your Mobile Device and about your use of the Application and/or our Services. You also may be required to provide certain information about yourself as a condition to downloading, installing, or using the Application or certain of its features or functionality, and the Application may provide you with opportunities to share information about yourself with others. Learn more about our use of these digital tools in our Privacy Policy.
5.1.2 All information we collect through or in connection with the Company Properties are subject to our Privacy Policy. By downloading, installing, using, and providing information to or through this Application (or Site), you consent to all actions taken by us with respect to your information in compliance with the Privacy Policy.
6 Prohibited Use of the Services
6.1 User Prohibitions and Community Standards. You may use the Company Properties only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy. You agree not to use any Company Properties to:
(a) In any way that violate any applicable federal, state, local, or international law or regulation (including, without limitation, any laws regarding the export of data or software to and from Canada, the United States, or other countries) or violate our or any third party’s intellectual property or other proprietary or legal rights;
(b) Access any part of the Services, Content, data, or information you do not have permission or authorization to access or for which Ground News has revoked your access;
(c) Use the Site in any manner that could disable, overburden, damage, or impair the site or interfere with any other party's use of the Site, including their ability to engage in real time activities through the Website;
(d) Use any robot, spider, or other automatic device, process, or means to access the Site for any purpose, including monitoring or copying any of the material on the Site;
(e) Use any manual process to monitor or copy any of the material on the website or application of Ground News, or for any other purpose not expressly authorized in these Terms of Service, without our prior written consent;
(f) Use any device, software, or routine that interferes with the proper working of the Company Properties;
(g) Introduce any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, logic bombs, or other material that is malicious or technologically harmful;
(h) Attempt to gain unauthorized access to, interfere with, damage, or disrupt any parts of the Company Properties, the server on which the Application is stored, or any server, computer, or database connected to the Company Properties;
(i) Attack the Company Properties, in whole, or in part, via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of-service attack;
(j) Otherwise attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Company Properties, or any portion thereof; or
(k) Engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits anyone’s use or enjoyment of ourServices, or which, as determined by us, may harm us or our users, or expose them to liability.
7. Reliance on Information Posted
7.1 The information presented on or through the Company Properties are made available solely for general information purposes. We do not warrant the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of this information. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. We disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on such materials by you or any other visitor to the Company Properties, or by anyone who may be informed of any of its contents.
7.2 The Company Properties provide links to content published and maintained by third parties,including materials provided by other media companies, independent news reporters,bloggers, and third-party licensors, syndicators, aggregators, or reporting services. All statements and opinions expressed in these materials, and all articles and responses to questions and other content, other than the content provided by Ground News, are solely the opinions and the responsibility of the person or entity providing those materials. These materials do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Ground News. We are not responsible, or liable to you or any third party, for the content or accuracy of any materials provided by any third parties.
7.3 You further acknowledge that Ground News has no obligation to pre-screen information, data, text, music, sound, photographs, videos, and other materials available on and through the Company Properties by third parties (“Third Party Content”), although Ground News reserves the right in its sole discretion to pre-screen, refuse, or remove any Third-PartyContent. In the event that Ground News pre-screens, refuses, or removes any Third-PartyContent, you acknowledge that we will do so for our benefit, not yours. Without limiting the foregoing, we shall have the right to remove any Third-Party Content that violates the Terms of Services or is otherwise objectionable.
8 Links from the Application
If the Company Properties contain links to other sites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your convenience only and as they relate to the Content our Application reviews and curates automatically. We do not present our users with links contained in advertisements, including banner advertisements and sponsored links. We have no control over the contents of those sites or resources and accept no responsibility for them or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them. If you decide to access any of the third-party websites linked to in the respective articles analyzed by our Application, you do so entirely at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of use for such websites.
9 Feedback
You agree that submissions of any ideas, suggestions, documents, and/or proposals to Ground News through its suggestion or feedback feature/channel (including via email) or similar pages (“Feedback”) is at your own risk and that Ground News has no obligations (including without limitation obligations of confidentiality) with respect to such Feedback. You represent and warrant that you have all rights necessary to submit the Feedback. You hereby grant to Ground News a fully paid, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, non-exclusive, and fully sublicensable right and license to use, reproduce, perform, display, distribute, adapt, modify, re-format, create derivative works of, and otherwise commercially or non-commercially exploit in any manner, any and all Feedback, and to sublicense the foregoing rights, in connection with the operation and maintenance of the Company Properties.
10. Subscriptions and Taxes
10.1 If you purchase any of our paid Services, including without limitation, our Vantage, Premium, and/or Pro-level subscription Services, (each a “Subscription”), you agree to pay all fees or charges to your account in accordance with the fees, charges and billing terms in effect at the time a fee or charge is due and payable. You must provide the Ground News via the Application with a valid credit card (Visa, MasterCard, or any other issuer accepted by us) or PayPal account (“Payment Provider”), or purchase order information as a condition to signing up for the Services. Your Payment Provider agreement governs your use of the designated credit card or PayPal account, and you must refer to that agreement and not the Terms to determine your rights and liabilities. By providing Ground News with your credit card number or PayPal account and associated payment information, you agree that Ground News is authorized to immediately invoice your account for all fees and charges due and payable to Ground News hereunder and that no additional notice or consent is required. You agree to immediately notify the Ground News of any change in your billing address or the credit card or PayPal account used for payment hereunder. Ground News reserves the right at any time to change its prices and billing methods, either immediately upon posting on the Company Properties or by e-mail delivery to you.
10.2 You will be responsible for payment of the applicable Subscription for any Services (each, a “Service Subscription Fee”) at the time you create your account and select your monthly package (each a “Service Commencement Date”). Except as set forth in the Terms of Services, all Subscription fees for the Services are non-refundable. No contract will exist between you and Ground News for the Services until Ground News accepts your order by a confirmatory e-mail, SMS/MMS message, or other appropriate means of communication.
10.3 Your Subscription will continue indefinitely until terminated in accordance with the Terms. After your initial Subscription period, and again after any subsequent Subscription period, your Subscription will automatically commence on the first day following the end of such period (each a “Renewal Commencement Date”) and continue for an additional equivalent period, at our then-current price for such subscription. You agree that your account will be subject to this automatic renewal feature unless you cancel your Subscription or opt out of renewal at any time prior to the Renewal Commencement Date via the same method from which the Subscription was originally purchased or by emailing us at feedback@ground.news. If you cancel your Subscription, you may continue using your Subscription until the end of your then-current Subscription term; your Subscription will not be renewed after your then-current term expires. However, you will not be eligible for a pro-rated refund of any portion of the Subscription fee paid for the then-current subscription period. By subscribing, you authorize Ground News to charge your Payment Provider now, and again at the beginning of any subsequent Subscription period. Upon renewal of your Subscription, if Ground News does not receive payment from your Payment Provider, (i) you agree to pay all amounts due on your account upon demand, and/or (ii) you agree that the Ground News may either terminate or suspend your Subscription and continue to attempt to charge your Payment Provider until payment is received (upon receipt of payment, your account will be activated and for purposes of automatic renewal, your new subscription commitment period will begin as of the day payment was received). If you have any further questions, please contact support at feedback@ground.news. Note that terminating your Ground News account will not automatically cancel your Subscription.
10.4 Ground News’ fees are shown prior to the application of any local sales tax. If any Subscription herein are subject to sales tax in any jurisdiction and you have not remitted the applicable sales tax to Ground News, you will be responsible for the payment of such sales tax and any related penalties or interest to the relevant tax authority and you will indemnify us for any liability or expense we may incur in connection with such sales taxes. Upon our request, you will provide us with official receipts issued by the appropriate taxing authority, or other such evidence that you have paid all applicable taxes. For purposes of this section, “sales tax” shall mean any sales or use tax, and any other tax measured by sales proceeds, that Ground News is permitted to pass to its customers, that is the functional equivalent of a sales tax where the applicable taxing jurisdiction does not otherwise impose a sales or use tax.
11. Representations and Warranties; Indemnification; and Limitation of Liabilities
11.1 You represent, warrant and covenant (a) that no materials of any kind submitted through your account will (i) violate, plagiarize, or infringe upon the rights of any third party, including copyright, trademark, privacy or other personal or proprietary rights; or (ii) contain libelous or otherwise unlawful material; (b) that you are at least thirteen years old if you are in the USA and the UK, and sixteen years old or of legal age, anywhere else; and (c) if you are under eighteen years old (or of legal age in the respective territory), your parent or legal guardian has read these Terms of Service and agreed to them and your use of the Services.
11.2 You hereby indemnify, defend and hold harmless Ground News, its parents, subsidiaries, all officers, directors, owners, agents, employees, information providers, affiliates, licensors and licensees (collectively, the "Indemnified Parties") from and against any and all liability and costs, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys' fees, incurred by the Indemnified Parties in connection with any claim arising out of: (i) any breach by you or any user of your account of these Terms of Service or the foregoing representations, warranties and covenants; (ii) your gross negligence or willful misconduct; (iii) your User Contributions; or (iv) your violation of any applicable laws, rules or regulations. You shall cooperate as fully as reasonably required in the defense of any such claim. Ground News reserves the right, at its own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification by you. You agree that the provisions herein will survive any termination of your account, the Terms of Service, or your access to the Company Properties.
12. Disclaimer of Warranties
YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, YOUR USE OF THE COMPANY PROPERTIES AND USER CONTRIBUTIONS IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK, AND THE COMPANY PROPERTIES ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITH ALL FAULTS. THE INDEMNIFIED PARTIES EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, REPRESENTATIONS, AND CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. THE INDEMNIFIED PARTIES MAKE NO WARRANTY, REPRESENTATION OR CONDITION THAT: (1) THE COMPANY PROPERTIES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS; (2) YOUR USE OF THE COMPANY PROPERTIES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE OR ERROR-FREE; (3) THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM USE OF THE COMPANY PROPERTIES WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE; OR (4) ANY ERRORS IN THE COMPANY PROPERTIES WILL BE CORRECTED. THE SERVICES MAY BE SUBJECT TO DELAYS, CANCELLATIONS AND OTHER DISRUPTIONS. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED FROM GROUND NEWS, THE INDEMNIFIED PARTIES, OR THROUGH THE COMPANY PROPERTIES WILL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY MADE HEREIN.
YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT IN NO EVENT SHALL THE INDEMNIFIED PARTIES BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE OR DATA, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE COMPANY PROPERTIES, USER CONTRIBUTIONS, OR DAMAGES OR COSTS DUE TO LOSS OF PRODUCTION OR USE, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES, OR PERSONAL OR PROPERTY DAMAGE OR EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, WHETHER OR NOT GROUND NEWS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE TERMS, OR FROM ANY COMMUNICATIONS, INTERACTIONS OR MEETINGS WITH OTHER USERS OF THE COMPANY PROPERTIES, ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, RESULTING FROM: (1) THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE COMPANY PROPERTIES; (2) THE COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES RESULTING FROM ANY GOODS, DATA, INFORMATION OR SERVICES PURCHASED OR OBTAINED OR MESSAGES RECEIVED FOR TRANSACTIONS ENTERED INTO THROUGH THE COMPANY PROPERTIES; (3) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA; (4) STATEMENTS OR CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE COMPANY PROPERTIES; OR (5) YOUR USER CONTRIBUTIONS, OR (6) ANY OTHER MATTER RELATED TO THE COMPANY PROPERTIES, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, COPYRIGHT, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), PRODUCT LIABILITY OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL THE INDEMNIFIED PARTIES BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR MORE THAN THE AMOUNT RECEIVED BY THE GROUND NEWS AS A RESULT OF YOUR USE OF THE COMPANY PROPERTIES IN THE SUBSCRIPTION PERIOD DURING WHICH YOU FIRST ASSERT A CLAIM. IF YOU HAVE NOT PAID THE COMPANY ANY AMOUNTS IN THE SUBSCRIPTION PERIOD DURING WHICH YOU FIRST ASSERT ANY SUCH CLAIM, COMPANY’S SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE LIABILITY SHALL BE LIMITED TO NO MORE THAN THE EQUIVALENT OF SIX (6) MONTHS OF THE HIGHEST-LEVEL PAID SUBSCRIPTION YOU HAD DURING THAT SIX MONTH PERIOD; OR, IF YOU WERE NOT A PAID USER DURING THE PRIOR SIX (6) MONTH PERIOD, NO MORE THAN THE EQUIVALENT OF SIX (6) MONTHS OF THE LOWEST-LEVEL PAID SUBSCRIPTION’S PRICE DURING THAT SAME TIME PERIOD.
THE LIMITATIONS OF DAMAGES SET FORTH HEREIN ARE FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS OF THE BASIS OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN GROUND NEWS AND YOU. CERTAIN JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES. IF THESE LAWS APPLY TO YOU, SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS OR LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU, AND YOU MIGHT HAVE ADDITIONAL RIGHTS.
13. Governing Law
These Terms of Service and all related matters are and will be governed by, and construed and interpreted solely in accordance with, the laws of the Province of Ontario, Canada and applicable federal laws of Canada, excluding any rules of private international law or the conflict of laws that would lead to the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction and excluding any law that implements the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.
14. Arbitration, Litigation, and Class Waiver
(a) Arbitration. Except as expressly set forth in this section 14 and subject to the other terms of this Terms of Service, all disputes, controversies and claims arising under, out of, in connection with, or in relation to these Terms of Service, the Site, the Application or any related matters (collectively "Disputes" and each a "Dispute") will be referred to and finally resolved by binding arbitration administered by the JAMS Toronto Mediation, Arbitration and ADR Services (the "JAMS") in accordance with its rules and these Terms of Use. There will be a single arbitrator, and the arbitration will be private and confidential. The arbitration will be held at Toronto, Ontario, and the language used in the arbitration will be the English language. Any award rendered in an arbitration is final and binding and judgment on the award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction for its enforcement. Unless you and Ground News expressly agree in writing otherwise: (i) the arbitration will be conducted solely based upon written evidence (declarations or affidavits) and written arguments submitted by or on behalf of each of you and Ground News; and (ii) there will be not be any in-person hearing (including any hearing by teleconference, videoconference or web conference) of the parties, witnesses or legal counsel. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this section 14(a) does not apply to a Dispute based upon infringement, misappropriation or violation of intellectual property rights (including copyright and trademarks).
(b) Litigation. If and to the extent, and for any reason, that a Dispute is not subject to arbitration as set forth in section 14(a), the Dispute will be resolved before the Supreme Court of Ontario sitting in the City of Toronto, and you and Ground News each hereby irrevocably submit and attorn to the original and exclusive jurisdiction of that court in respect of all of those Disputes, except that Ground News may commence litigation against you in the competent courts of any other jurisdiction seeking injunctive relief (or similar urgent legal remedies) to avoid irreparable harm or to preserve the status quo or to enforce these Terms of Use.
(c) Waiver of Class or Consolidated Actions. ALL CLAIMS AND DISPUTES WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THIS ARBITRATION AGREEMENT MUST BE ARBITRATED OR LITIGATED ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT ON A CLASS BASIS, AND CLAIMS OF MORE THAN ONE CUSTOMER OR USER CANNOT BE ARBITRATED OR LITIGATED JOINTLY OR CONSOLIDATED WITH THOSE OF ANY OTHER CUSTOMER OR USER.
(d) Limitations Period. YOU AND GROUND NEWS AGREE THAT ANY CAUSE OF ACTION ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE TERMS OF SERVICES, THE COMPANY PROPERTIES OR THE CONTENT MUST COMMENCE WITHIN NO LONGER THAN SIX (6) MONTHS AFTER THE CAUSE OF ACTION ARISES. OTHERWISE, SUCH CAUSE OF ACTION IS PERMANENTLY BARRED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
15. Registration and Security
You are responsible for all usage or activity on your account with Ground News, including use of the account by any third party authorized by you to use your login credentials. Any fraudulent, abusive, or otherwise illegal activity may be grounds for termination of your account, at our sole discretion, and we may refer you to appropriate law-enforcement agencies. You accept and agree that you will not permit any third party to access your account without your direct and present supervision.
16. Termination of Services by Ground News
(a) Except as set forth above, the Service Subscription Fee for any Service shall be non-refundable. If timely payment cannot be charged to your Payment Provider for any reason, if you have materially breached any provision of the Terms of Service, or if we are required to do so by law (e.g., where the provision of the Website, the App, or the Services is, or becomes, unlawful), we have the right to, immediately and without notice, suspend or terminate any Services provided to you and your access to the Site and Application. You agree that all terminations for cause shall be made in our sole discretion and that we shall not be liable to you or any third party for any termination of your account.
(b) If you want to terminate the Services and/or the Subscription provided to you by the us(regardless of whether the subscription was initiated and paid by you, or was a gift subscription initiated or paid by a third party), you may do so by (a) contacting us through your Subscriber account, or via email, mail, or our contact form at any time, and (b) closing your account for all the Services that you use as specified in Section 10.3. Your notice should be sent, in writing, to Ground News’ email or mailing address set forth below. Note that terminating your Ground News account automatically will cancel your Subscription.
Ground News:
151 Charles St.
Kitchener, Ontario
N2G 1H6, Canada
(c) Upon termination of any subscription Service by us or you, your right to use such Service will automatically terminate immediately, including accessibility or recovery of any of your account settings, news filters, or stored reports (collectively, “your content”). We do not have any liability whatsoever to you for any suspension or termination, including for deletion of your content, if any. All sections and/or provisions of the Terms of Services, which, by their nature, should survive, shall survive termination of Services, including without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, data privacy rights and responsibilities, indemnifications, binding arbitration, and limitation of liability.
17. International Users
The Company Properties can be accessed from countries around the world and may contain references to services and content that are not available in your country. These references do not imply that we intend to announce such services or content in your country. The Company is headquartered and controlled in Ontario, Canada, and our Site, Application, and Services offered by us from our facilities in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Ground News makes no representations that the Site, Application and Services are appropriate or available for use in other locations. Those who access or use the Company Properties from other jurisdictions do so at their own volition and are responsible for compliance with local law.
Please review our Privacy Policy to learn more about data privacy and management protections that apply to our users.
18. Assignment
The Terms of Service, and your rights and obligations hereunder, may not be assigned, subcontracted, delegated or otherwise transferred by you without the Ground News’ prior written consent, and any attempted assignment, subcontract, delegation, or transfer in violation of the foregoing will be null and void.
19. Force Majeure
We shall not be liable for any delay or failure to perform resulting from causes outside of our reasonable control, including, but not limited to, acts of God, war, terrorism, riots, embargos, pandemics, epidemics, acts of civil or military authorities, fire, floods, accidents, strikes or shortages of transportation facilities, fuel, energy, labor or materials.
20. Severability
If any provision of the Terms of Service are, for any reason, held to be invalid or unenforceable, the other provisions set forth herein will remain enforceable, and the invalid or unenforceable provision(s) will be deemed modified so that it is valid and enforceable to the maximum extent permitted by law.
21. Waiver
Our waiver or failure to enforce any provision herein on one occasion will not be deemed a waiver of any other provision or of such provision on any other occasion.
22. Copyright Policy
Users of the Services are asked to respect the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that any part of our Services and/or Content made available on or through the Services infringe your copyright, please fill out our copyright notice form. You agree to notify us immediately upon becoming aware of any claim that the Services or Content infringe upon any copyright, trademark, or other contractual, statutory, or common law rights.
23. Entire Agreement
The Terms of Service are the final, complete and exclusive agreement of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes and merges all prior discussions between the parties with respect to such subject matter.
24. Contacting Us
If you have any questions, complaints, Feedback, or claims with respect to the Company Properties, please contact us via email at feedback@ground.news. We will do our best to address your concerns. If you feel that your concerns have been addressed incompletely, we invite you to let us know for further investigation.
Where we require you to provide an e-mail address, you are responsible for providing us with your most current e-mail address. In the event that the last e-mail address you provided us is not valid, or for any reason is not capable of delivering to you any notices required/ permitted by the Terms of Service, then our dispatch of the e-mail containing such notice will nonetheless constitute effective notice. You may give us notice at the address set forth in 16(b). Such notice shall be deemed given when received by us by letter delivered by nationally recognized overnight delivery service or first-class postage prepaid mail at the above address.
To contact us for any of these specific reasons, you can use our online contact forms for the most efficient processing of your request: