These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your use of BribeMap at bribemap.com (the “Service”). By using the Service, creating an account, or publishing a report, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
How we handle personal information is described in our Privacy Policy.
1. The Service
BribeMap is a public, crowd-sourced record of first-person accounts of bribes, refused bribe demands, and honest official conduct. It is a civic information project. It is not a police station, court, lawyer, journalist, or government portal.
Published reports are unverified accounts submitted by members of the public. Statistics, maps, and rankings are computed from those accounts. They are not findings of fact, charges, or proof that any named office or person committed a crime.
2. Eligibility
You must be at least 18 years old to create an account or submit content. You must have the legal capacity to enter this agreement. If you use the Service on behalf of an organization, you confirm you have authority to bind it.
3. Accounts
Browsing reports, statistics, and the map does not require an account. Submitting a report, voting, commenting, or flagging does. We currently offer sign-in through Google. You must keep your Google account secure. You are responsible for activity on your BribeMap account.
We may refuse, suspend, or ban accounts that we reasonably believe are used for spam, impersonation, evasion of a prior ban, or other abuse.
4. Your reports and other content
When you submit a report or other content, you confirm that:
- It describes something that happened to you, or that you otherwise have a genuine basis to report
- It is true to the best of your knowledge
- You have the right to submit it
- It does not impersonate another person
- You will not include an official’s personal name, or private contact details of others, as a way to target them
Think carefully before writing details that could identify you to someone involved in the incident. Anonymous display hides your username from the public page; it does not make the story itself unidentifiable, and we still record your account as the author for spam control.
Optional evidence files must be relevant to the incident. Do not upload malware, unrelated personal data, or content you do not have the right to share.
5. License you grant us
You keep ownership of content you submit. You grant BribeMap a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, publish, translate, display, and create aggregate statistics from that content so we can operate and improve the Service.
Aggregate statistics are intended for public reuse. Individual narratives remain user-submitted, unverified accounts. Do not treat a single report as a verified allegation against a specific person.
6. Acceptable use
You agree not to:
- Submit reports you know are false, fabricated, or intended to harass
- Doxx, threaten, or incite violence against any person
- Post personal names of officials or private individuals as a targeting device
- Upload illegal content, including child sexual abuse material
- Attempt to break into the Service, scrape it in an abusive way, or overload it
- Create accounts or automate submissions to manipulate statistics
- Use the Service to advertise unrelated commercial products
- Misrepresent BribeMap as an official government or law-enforcement channel
7. Moderation and takedown
We may unpublish, edit (for example, to redact personal data), or remove content, and we may limit or ban accounts, when we believe it is necessary to enforce these Terms, protect safety, or comply with law. We are not obligated to monitor every submission.
To request a takedown or correction, email contact@bribemap.com with the public report reference (for example, R-XXXXXXX) and your reason. We will review in good faith. We may decline requests that would erase a legitimate first-person account solely because someone disagrees with it.
8. Not legal advice or an official filing
Nothing on BribeMap is legal advice, a police complaint, an RTI/FOIA filing, or evidence that a court or agency must accept. If you need official action, use the appropriate government or legal channel. If you are in immediate danger, contact local emergency services.
9. Disclaimers
The Service is provided “as is” and “as available.” We do not warrant that reports are accurate, complete, or current, that the site will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that statistics have any particular meaning beyond counts of published submissions. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.
10. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, BribeMap and its operators will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, data, or goodwill, arising from your use of the Service or from content published by users. Our total liability for any claim relating to the Service will not exceed the greater of one thousand Indian rupees (₹1,000) or the amount you paid us in the twelve months before the claim (currently, the Service is free).
Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations. In those places, our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted.
11. Indemnity
You will defend and indemnify BribeMap and its operators against claims, damages, and reasonable legal fees arising from your content or your violation of these Terms, except to the extent a claim is caused by our willful misconduct.
12. Termination
You may stop using the Service at any time. We may suspend or end access if you breach these Terms or if we discontinue the Service. Provisions that by their nature should survive (including licenses to already published content, disclaimers, and limitations of liability) will survive termination.
13. Governing law
These Terms are governed by the laws of India, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Courts in India will have exclusive jurisdiction, except that we may seek injunctive relief in any jurisdiction to protect the Service.
14. Changes
We may update these Terms as the Service changes. The “Last updated” date at the top will change when we do. If you continue to use the Service after an update, you accept the new Terms. If you do not agree, stop using the Service.
15. Contact
Questions about these Terms: contact@bribemap.com