PREAMBLE
The purpose of the present General Terms of Use is to define the conditions governing community areas of the StarAfrica portal.
StarAfrica is an internet portal of information and services, local and international, dedicated to African users. StarAfrica provides to users community areas to communicate (forum, blogs, comments …).
This service is proposed by StarAfrica Company, a public company with a shared capital of 37000 euros, registered in Paris with the number 497 551 804 and with its registered office is located at 6 place d’Alleray, 75505 PARIS Cedex 15 France (hereinafter “StarAfrica”).
This service is available at www.starafrica.com to anyone over the legal age or to minor person with his or her parental consent.
Access and use of the Service are subject to the present General Terms of Use (hereinafter the “Terms”) that the User must expressly accept at the time of subscription to the Service as well as by the general rules of conduct and use of the Internet commonly called “Netiquette” (accessible from the site http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1855), these rules being considered an integral part of the present Terms.
The use of the Service supposes the complete and entire agreement hereby.
StarAfrica reserves the right to suspend or terminate, at any time, the use of the Service, en case of infringement by the user of the Terms hereby.
ARTICLE 1 - DEFINITIONS
In those Terms, words shall have, unless otherwise expressly mentioned, the following meaning:
Account: All information technology granted to a User, which may be only used by the User, by identifying itself into the Service with its username and password.
Content: represents all content stored and published by the User on private and community areas (particularly any pictures, text, videos…).
Portal: represents the internet Portal www.starafrica.com from which the User can access to the Service.
Service: represents an online public communication service entitled «StarAfrica »:
- Accessible from www.starafrica.com
- Offering public community areas to communicate (in particular Forums, Blogs) lead by Users.
User: a physical person subscribing to the Service for its own needs and for exclusively personal and non-business purposes. Access to the Service is reserved to anyone over the minimum legal age or to minor with its parental consent.
ARTICLE 2 – PURPOSE
The purpose of the present Terms is to define the conditions governing the availability and use of the Service for Users.
ARTICLE 3 – ACCESS TO THE SERVICE
3.1 Technical Requirements
In order to use the Service, the User shall have a computer matching the configurations and parameters necessary and shall have the sufficient technical knowledge to access and normally use the Service.
In general terms, the User shall have all the necessary hardware, in particular a compatible computer or mobile device, modem or any other connection tool, in order to connect to Internet.
The Service is accessible from a mobile device, only for consultation. A computer connected to internet network will be necessary to interact with the Service.
3.2 Account registration and activation
In order to fully access and use the community functionality of the Service, the User must subscribe, from the Website, and fill out the registration form with the necessary information (in particular, a valid email address, a login/username, and a specific personal password).
In order to protect the User’s privacy, it is recommended that the username does not contain any personal information or does not likely to mislead. In addition, the username shall not infringe (a) intellectual property rights, (b) third party rights, (c) or breach privacy, (d) usurp somebody’s identity, and (e) infringe public order or/and morals or any other regulations.
The User agrees to communicate accurate and reliable information on the registration form, and regularly updated. In the event the User would provide wrong information, inaccurate or incomplete, StarAfrica has the right to terminate the Account immediately, as soon as it is aware.
Login and password are unique and are created for each Account. The User shall keep strictly confidential its login and password.
In addition, the User shall validate its registration by accepting the present Terms. Therefore, a confirmation email will be sent to the User.
Then, the User will have the possibility to modify and personalize its profile.
ARTICLE 4 – SERVICE DESCRIPTION
4.1. User Profile
Authentication of Users is mandatory for any action on the Service.
The very first use of the Service requires a registration with the creation of a username, visible on the Service by every User, and the creation of a password.
Then, every time the User will use the Service; it shall identify itself with its login and password.
The User is informed that it is sole responsible for the confidentiality of its Account and password. The User agrees to inform immediately StarAfrica about any forbidden use of its Account and/or password, and/or any security breach.
The User shall create its profile in order to use the Service, and have the choice to publish or not some information to introduce itself.
4.2. Service Presentation
The Service allows Users to share interests on certain subjects such as sports, news, music…
By default, access to the Service is free (except internet connection fees).
The User who consults the Service can react and comment, after being registered and identified.
The User can ask for free the user community, answer other users’ questions, read question and answers of other Users.
ARTICLE 5 – USER LIABILITY
5.1. General Obligation
Contents published by the User on community areas on the Portal shall not infringe any legislation or regulation in force, and the present Terms. Therefore, contents shall not infringe any third party rights, nor likely to infringe the image of the Service and/or the StarAfrica brand, and or the Orange brand, and StarAfrica’s image.
In particular, the User agrees that Contents shall not contain:
- any privacy infringement(i.e. representations of a person in the context of its private life, or image rights);
- words and/or expression and/or images likely to infringe public order, human rights, children protection (paedophilia, pornography);
- words and/or expression and/or images promoting discrimination, libelling, hate or violence against a person or group of person, specially in relation to their origin, affiliation, specific ethnicity, nation, race, religion, handicap, sexual preference or any other difference;
- words and/or expression and/or images promoting crimes and/or offences, such as the sale and consumption of illegal substances, prostitution, terrorism, sexual assault, etc;
- words and/or expression and/or images justifying, denying, or questioning war crimes and/or crimes against humanity;
- words and/or expression and/or images that are obscene, insulting, or defamatory to others, or infringing image or reputation of a brand or any physical or moral person, in any manner;
The User’s wise judgment and prudence is recommended, regarding accessible or published information.
It is also forbidden to the User to mislead or likely to mislead any third party, by usurping the name or the company name of other person, in particular to present itself as an employee of StarAfrica.
The User agrees to not publish on the Portal any Content or data, software or malicious program, likely to contain viruses, Trojan aiming to damage or interfere the Service or the Portal
The user agrees to inform StarAfrica about any non-authorized use of its Account, or any other security breach.
5.2. Respect of the terms and conditions of the community areas
Communication shall be friendly and sympathy.
Some recommendations:
- The User agrees to be courteous with its comments and messages.
- Discussions are allowed but aggressively, insults or setting scores are not allowed.
- Community areas shall not be used for marketing and sales.
- We remind you that according to the French intellectual property code, a work (book, music…) cannot be copied on internet without the authorisation of the author or its beneficiaries (editor, producer…).
- Incitement to introduce in protected systems, without authorisation, is forbidden.
- You should verify your messages are not beside the point and are relevant. You risk to not receive any answers and to disturb the communication.
- Watch out possible spelling or grammar mistakes, avoid as much as possible shorten words, such as SMS languages, which are not understandable by everyone.
- In addition, it is not necessary to shout to be understandable. Avoid writing your message in capital letters.
- If you post a comment, use simple words, in a language mastered by everyone: French and English.
- Be careful about propositions to meet person in real. You should know that someone hiding behind a username is not always the person it pretends to be.
- It is recommended to not post any personal information in your messages (phone number, email address, etc…) in order to avoid any malicious use by anyone.
- Comments or advices aiming to clearly promote a political party, a religion, a sect, or dangerous practice for health (diet, medicine, drugs, stimulating) will be banished.
- Comments clearly promoting alcohol or tobacco consumption will be rejected as well.
- Comments can be critical, when they are not insulting and do not aim to point out a person specifically.
- Be « honest » with your comments….
- Will be rejected :
o Bad faith comments: lack of experience but biased.
o Hiding promotional comments, sycophancy,
o Fiercely or exaggerate critics,
The User’s wise judgment and prudence is recommended, regarding accessible or published information.
ARTICLE 6 : GARANTIE DE L’UTILISATEUR
The User guarantee to be the owner or to have without restriction all authorisation needed for intellectual property rights (author’s rights, trademark…) and more generally any rights (personality rights regarding to the Content) for the publication of Content online.
The User agrees that Content published by it does not infringe in any case third party rights, pursuant to French Code Penal provisions.
THE USER GARANTEES STARAFRICA AGAINST ANY LAWSUIT OR CLAIM FROM AUTHORS, PHOTOGRAPHERS, OR PERFORMERS, AND GENERALLY SPEAKING, FROM ANY PERSON, WHO PARTICIPATED, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY TO THE PRODUCTION AND REALISATION OF CONTENTS AND/OR COULD CLAIM ANY RIGHTS ON CONTENT.
ARTICLE 7: STARFRICA LIABILITY
StarAfrica is offering an online communication storage service and assume its responsibility defined by article 6-I-2 of the law dated of June 21, 2004, for the trust in the digital economy.
StarAfrica denies any liability for the fraudulent use of Contents published on the Service by Users, for any damages incurred by the User from the unauthorized use of its account by others, whether the User was aware or not.
The User agrees to inform StarAfrica of any unauthorized use of its Account, or any security breach.
StarAfrica shall not be responsible for consequences resulting from the access to the User’s Account by third party, within the Service. Pursuant to the present provisions, StarAfrica may delete any Content obviously illicit, and/or suspend or close the User’s Account without delay. StarAfrica is responsible to set up the necessary means for the good run of the Service and shall take every measure to maintain continuity and quality.
StarAfrica reserves the right, if the User commits an offence or infringes third party rights, to provide, upon a legitimate authority request (court, public authority, and police), any information allowing or facilitating its identification.
ARTICLE 8 : SERVICE MODIFICATIONS
StarAfrica reserves the rights to modify, suspend or stop the Service at any time. Its liability shall not be incurred from that point.
StarAfrica reserves the rights to evolve the Service, in particular to propose new functionalities. The User will be informed of any changes of the present Terms, with a one (1) month prior notice of one.
In this case, the User can terminate its Account within the condition of the following article 10, without any fee, and within four (4) months after changes go into force, pursuant to article L121-84 of the Consumer Code.
ARTICLE 9 - MODERATION
Pursuant to article 6 paragraph 7 of the Law n° 2004-575 of June 21, 2004 « for trust in the digital economy», StarAfrica sets up a system easily accessible and visible by anyone, allowing Users to inform, via a « moderator alert », any Content obviously illicit, such as, but nor restrictively, promotion of crimes against humanity or children pornography, incitement for racial hatred, and press offence as defined by article 227-23 of the criminal code.
StarAfrica reserves the rights to suspend or delete without notice any Content or part of it, published by any Users infringing the provisions of article 6.
Communications in the Service are subjected to moderation a posteriori. The Moderator reserves the right to reject without notice any message that does not comply with the provision of article 5 hereby.
ARTICLE 10 – SUSPENSION - TERMINATION
10.1 Suspension
StarAfrica reserves the rights, pursuant to the present terms and conditions, to suspend of its own motion User’s Account, without notice and compensation, in the following case:
- any hacking act or attempt illicit use of Contents available on the Portal, or information stored,, having its origin the User’s Account.
- any hacking act or attempt to hack StarAfrica network or devices, necessary to provide the Service, having its origin the User’s connection.;
- Users alert that an other User (a) does not comply with the present provisions (b) use the Service in a way that infringe third party rights (c) use the Service in contradiction with the public order or morals, after an enquiry by StarAfrica;
- in case of infringement by the User of the present Terms, in particular when the User may have published on community areas (ex : forum, Blog) Content obviously illicit;
- name and email address indicated in the registration form do not match with the real name and email address;
- Marketing and sales of the Service, in any way by the User to one or more third party, or excessive use of the Service ;
10.2 Termination of an Account by the User
Any termination of an Account by the User shall be requested to StarAfrica by email, via the section “contact us” of the Portal, including the object “termination”.
10.3 Termination of an Account by StarAfrica
As soon as the User’s Account is suspended, and after a notice sent to the User by email without answer within five (5) days, StarAfrica can terminate of its own motion, the User’s Account without compensation. Without prejudice with this provision, StarAfrica reserves the possibility to terminate User’s Account without notice and compensation, in the case of Contents and/or comments published by the User would be obviously illicit.
Furthermore, StarAfrica reserves the rights to delete of its own motion, User’s Account in case of non-use of its Account for six (6) months.
In case of final stop of the Service, the User will be informed by email within one (1) month before the closing.
ARTICLE 12 - TRANSFERABILITY
It is forbidden for the User to transfer to a third party, any of obligations incurred from the present Terms. In case of infringement to this provision, beside the immediate termination of the contract, User’s liability may be sought, resulting from contents published via its Account.
ARTICLE 13 – PERSONNAL DATA
The User is sole responsible for data communicated via the Service and attests that data provided for the registration are accurate. Data gathered within the Service by StarAfrica may be used to send to the User informative emails.
Pursuant to the Law n° 78-17 of January 6th, 1978, the User can access at any time to its personal information retained by StarAfrica, ask for its modification or suppression, by email sent to StarAfrica contact@starafrica.com , justifying its identity.
StarAfrica retains identification data of its Users, pursuant to the legislation or regulation in force. StarAfrica may communicate Users information within judicial order. Within the duration of the Service, as a proof required, data concerning User and use of the Service are retained and filed confidentially by StarAfrica, pursuant to legislative or regulatory provisions in force.
ARTICLE 14 - PROPERTY
The User remains the owner of Contents published via blog, forum, and comments areas.
StarAfrica is and remains owner of its Service, Portal, Application, graphic framework, trademarks, logos, concepts, technology, software, database, and contents available for Users.
The user acknowledges to not acquiring any intellectual property rights on components owned by StarAfrica. It is formally forbidden to use them outside of the Service define in the present terms and conditions.
Every party defends at their own risk and fees their own rights. Nevertheless, each of the party agree to provide assistance to the other party, necessary or useful to defend its rights.
ARTICLE 15 – APPLICABLE LAW
If one or more stipulations of the present Terms are invalid or declared invalid by the application of a law or regulation, or by a final competent, the other stipulations will remain in force.
The stipulations declared null and invalid will be replaced by stipulations close to the content of those initially stipulated by the party.
The parties may not be responsible or considered to not complying to the present Terms, for any delay or failure to execute, where the delay or failure result to Force Majeure as defined by the French jurisprudence.
Any claim or dispute related to the Service must be sent in writing to the following address: support@starafrica.com .
The present Terms are subject to French law.
