Acceptable Use Policy

This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") defines what is and is not permitted on the 402.md platform. It applies to all users, including developers publishing skills, AI agents consuming skills, and marketplace visitors.

This AUP supplements our Terms of Service. Violating this policy may result in content removal, account suspension, or termination.

402.md is designed for legitimate commerce between businesses and AI agents. Permitted uses include:

• Publishing API endpoints with clear pricing and documentation
• Offering SaaS subscriptions, digital content, physical products, and professional services
• Building AI agents that discover and purchase skills through the x402 protocol
• Using Platform SDKs and tools as documented
• Integrating the checkout widget or gateway middleware into your applications

You must not publish skills or content that involve:

Illegal activities:

• Services that facilitate illegal activities in any jurisdiction
• Content that violates intellectual property rights of third parties
• Tools designed for unauthorized surveillance, hacking, or data theft
• Services that facilitate money laundering, sanctions evasion, or terrorist financing

Harmful content:

• Content promoting violence, harassment, discrimination, or hate speech
• Non-consensual intimate content or child exploitation material
• Intentional misinformation or disinformation campaigns
• Services designed to cause harm to individuals or organizations

Deceptive practices:

• Skills that misrepresent their functionality or pricing
• Fake ratings, reviews, or artificially inflated marketplace metrics
• Impersonation of other developers, companies, or services
• Bait-and-switch tactics (advertising one service, delivering another)

The following activities are prohibited on the Platform:

Technical abuse:

• Attempting to bypass payment verification or the x402 protocol
• Exploiting vulnerabilities in the Platform, SDKs, or infrastructure
• Conducting denial-of-service attacks against the Platform or other vendors
• Scraping or data mining the marketplace beyond normal usage patterns
• Reverse-engineering proprietary (non-open-source) components of the Platform

Financial abuse:

• Artificially generating transactions to inflate volume metrics
• Using the Platform to launder funds or evade financial regulations
• Creating multiple accounts to circumvent plan limits or platform restrictions
• Manipulating escrow or settlement mechanisms

Marketplace manipulation:

• Coordinated rating schemes to boost or suppress skill rankings
• Publishing duplicate or near-duplicate skills to dominate search results
• Keyword stuffing in skill descriptions or SKILL.md files

When publishing skills on the marketplace, vendors must:

• Provide accurate and complete SKILL.md documentation describing what the skill does, its pricing, and any limitations
• Set fair and transparent pricing that reflects the value delivered
• Maintain uptime and reliability of registered endpoints
• Respond to legitimate buyer inquiries and refund requests in a timely manner
• Keep endpoint behavior consistent with the documented SKILL.md description
• Use appropriate skill categories and tags for accurate marketplace discovery

Skills that consistently fail health checks, deliver significantly degraded service, or receive sustained negative ratings may be flagged for review or temporarily suspended from the marketplace.

402.md enforces this policy through a graduated response system:

• Warning: For minor or first-time violations, we issue a warning with guidance on how to comply
• Content removal: Skills or content that violate this policy may be removed from the marketplace
• Temporary suspension: Repeated or moderate violations may result in temporary account suspension
• Permanent termination: Serious violations (illegal content, fraud, security exploits) result in permanent account termination

In cases of serious violations posing immediate risk, we may skip the graduated process and take immediate action. Pending settlements may be frozen during investigation of suspected violations.

If you encounter content or behavior that violates this policy, report it to abuse@402.md with the following information:

• The skill name or URL involved
• A description of the violation
• Any supporting evidence (screenshots, transaction IDs, endpoint responses)

We review all reports and will respond within 5 business days. Reports can be submitted anonymously, but providing contact information helps us follow up with you about the resolution.

We may update this Acceptable Use Policy as the Platform evolves. Material changes will be communicated through email or a prominent notice on the Platform. Continued use of the Services after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.