1.Introduction
Welcome to StepFun AI! StepFun AI products and related services (hereinafter referred to as "the Product") refer to the Product provided by Shanghai StepFun Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "the Company" or "We") to you in the form of StepFun AI web version（https://yuewen.cn/chats/new、https://www.stepfun.com/）, StepFun AI mobile version (including App and WeChat Mini Program), or other innovative forms that emerge with technological development. These products and services are centered on generative AI services and include other functionalities (the specific product and service names shall be subject to the names actually used by the user at that time). This User Agreement is an agreement entered into between you and the Company regarding the registration, login, and use (hereinafter collectively referred to as "Use") of the Product (hereinafter referred to as "this Agreement"). You understand and agree that you are only entitled to use the Product through the official StepFun AI channels operated by us.
Please note that some services and features on StepFun AI (especially those involving identity verification) may not currently be available in your region. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and are working to provide these services and features as soon as possible (if feasible).
To better provide you with products and services, please read and fully understand this Agreement carefully before you start using the Product, especially clauses involving exemption or limitation of liability, intellectual property licensing clauses, and clauses on applicable law and dispute resolution. Among them, important content such as clauses on exemption or limitation of liability will be highlighted in bold to draw your attention, and you should focus on reading them.
If you are located in the United States, please be aware that this Agreement contains dispute resolution and arbitration clauses, including a waiver of class action and jury trial, as well as a bulk arbitration clause for 25 or more similar arbitration requests submitted by individual claimants represented by the same or coordinated counsel, which affect your rights under this Agreement and any disputes you may have with us and any related parties. You may opt out of binding arbitration and the class action and jury trial waiver in accordance with Section 13 below.
If you do not agree to this Agreement, we will not be able to provide you with complete products and services, and you may choose to stop using them. If you voluntarily choose to agree or use the Product, it will be deemed that you have fully understood this Agreement and agree to be bound by this Agreement and other agreements and rules related to the Product as a party to this Agreement (including but not limited to the "Platform Management Rules and Self-Discipline Convention" and other relevant documents, specifically as displayed on the relevant pages of the Product).
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions regarding the content of this Agreement, you may contact us through the methods published in this Agreement.
2. Products and Related Services
2.1 The Product and related services are applicable to adults and minors. If you are under 18 years old or under the age required by your place of residence to use StepFun AI, or if there are other circumstances where you do not meet the legal requirements commensurate with user behavior, you shall use StepFun AI under the supervision of a guardian. The Product is primarily designed for users' daily life, study, and work, providing services such as text processing, knowledge learning, information retrieval, and human-computer interaction. You can input questions according to your needs, and we will automatically generate relevant reply content.
2.2 Generative AI
2.2.1 The Product and related services rely on generative AI and other technologies. The generated content is for your reference only, and you should not use the output content from the Product as professional advice, for commercial purposes, or for other purposes. You shall not use new technologies and applications based on deep learning, virtual reality, generative AI, etc., to produce, upload, copy, transmit, or disseminate false news information or other information content prohibited by laws and regulations, or falsely claim synthesized content as natural content. When publishing or disseminating non-real information produced using new technologies and applications based on deep learning, virtual reality, generative AI, etc., you shall clearly mark it; otherwise, we have the right to take measures including but not limited to adding labels, restricting, or blocking related content and accounts. If situations that may have a significant impact on you or relevant parties are involved (for example, scenarios or purposes related to medical, financial, investment, insurance, etc.), it is recommended that you consult relevant professionals. The output of the Product should not be the basis for your further actions or inactions. The relevant content generated by the Product is probabilistically generated by an artificial intelligence model and its authenticity is not guaranteed. You must verify it yourself, especially for numbers, times, and various factual descriptions contained therein. You shall bear all consequences and responsibilities for any judgments you make or subsequent related operations based on the output content, including risks arising from reliance on the authenticity, accuracy, reliability, non-infringement, or fitness for a particular purpose of the output content.
We will, in accordance with regulatory requirements, apply appropriate labels (e.g., "AI Generated") at reasonable locations and frequencies within the generated content, indicating that the content is probabilistically generated by an artificial intelligence model. You shall not use technical means to delete, alter, or hide these labels. If you use network information content dissemination services to publish content generated by this Product, you shall actively declare and use the labeling function provided by the service provider.
2.2.2 The Product and related services rely on our generative AI technology for which algorithm and model filings have been completed. You can learn about the basic principles, intended purposes, and main operating mechanisms of our algorithms and model technology through the "StepFun AI Algorithm and Model Filing Information Description". The Product and related services also include third-party large model technology, with the large model filing number being [Beijing-DeepseekChat-202404280016].
2.3 To better enhance user experience and service, or for security purposes, the Company will periodically provide partial or complete updates or changes to the Product and related services (including but not limited to software/service modifications, upgrades, replacements, feature enhancements, development of new services, etc.). We will notify you in an appropriate manner where feasible. You may stop using this software and related services at any time, although the Company regrets this. The Company may also stop providing services to you at any time, or add or set new restrictions on this software and related services at any time. However, please rest assured that in such cases, we will take necessary measures in accordance with legal provisions to protect your legitimate rights and interests.
2.4 Unless expressly authorized in writing by the Company in advance, you shall not, in any form, engage in unauthorized access or use of the Product and related services, including but not limited to adaptation, reproduction, dissemination, vertical search, mirroring, or trading.
2.5 You understand that using the Product and related services requires you to prepare the necessary terminal equipment (such as computers, mobile phones, etc.). Once you access the Product and related services on a terminal device, it is deemed that you are using the Product and related services. The functions of the Product and related services may vary depending on the terminal device and operating system you use. To fully realize all functions of the Product and related services, you may need to connect your terminal device to the internet. You understand that you are responsible for the necessary costs incurred (such as data fees, internet access fees, etc.).
2.6 The Company grants you a personal, revocable, non-transferable, non-exclusive, and non-commercial right to legally use the Product and related services. All other rights not expressly authorized in this Agreement remain reserved by the Company. You must obtain the Company's prior written permission before exercising such rights. Furthermore, the Company's failure to exercise any of the aforementioned rights does not constitute a waiver of such rights. Some related services and features within the Product may require certain fees, which will be specified on the relevant pages of the Product.
2.7 The Company places great importance on the quality of generated content and will strive to take reasonable security measures to filter out inappropriate content. If you find that the content output or processing results returned by the Product and related services are unreasonable, flawed, or have other issues, you are welcome and encouraged to provide feedback through the feedback entry of the Product and related services at any time.
2.8 To help you stay informed about the Company's relevant services or marketing activities, the Company will provide pop-up information push services through pop-up windows within the Product. The specific forms of pop-up information push services include pop-ups prompting you to read the user agreement and privacy policy, pop-ups introducing Product features, and marketing activity pop-ups. To ensure that you receive better quality service, the Company will strictly control the frequency of daily pop-up information pushes, pushing only at a reasonable and necessary frequency, not exceeding 5 times per day. You can click the close icon around the pop-up to close it. If you do not need the pop-up information push service, you can also contact our customer service through the contact information published in this Agreement to request cancellation of the pop-up information push service.
3. About "Account"
3.1 The Product and related services provide you with a registration channel. You need to register an account before using the Product. Your account will be the mobile number you use for registration, and you can register and log in using your mobile number and verification code. You should ensure that you provide a valid mobile number when registering/logging in. If the mobile number you provide is incomplete or inaccurate, you may not be able to use the Product or your use may be restricted.
For users in mainland China, to implement the real-name authentication requirements of Chinese laws and regulations, and to help you better use this service and ensure your account security, you need to ensure that the identity information you provide is true, accurate, legal, and valid, and that you update it in a timely manner. If you choose to refuse to provide identity information, or if the materials submitted/information provided are inaccurate, untrue, non-standard, or if we have reason to suspect that they are incorrect, untrue, or illegal, you may not be able to obtain this service.
3.2 Account Cancellation
You may apply to cancel your account. The Company will assist you in canceling your account after completing reasonable and necessary verification of your personal identity, security status, device information, infringement complaints, etc., and will delete all information related to your account at your request, unless otherwise stipulated by laws and regulations.
3.2.1 You can only apply to cancel your own account and must follow the Product's cancellation process.
3.2.2 You are still responsible for your actions before account cancellation and during your use of the Product and related services.
3.2.3 After successful cancellation, account records, functions, etc., cannot be restored or provided.
3.2.4 If you submit an account cancellation request on either the StepFun AI web version or mobile version, both the StepFun AI web version and mobile version accounts (including related historical records) will be canceled simultaneously.
If you need to cancel your account, please follow the prompts to proceed with the cancellation.
3.3 You understand and promise that your set account shall not violate national laws and regulations and the Company's relevant rules. Your registration information and other personal information shall not contain illegal and undesirable information. You shall not open an account in another person's name without their permission (including but not limited to impersonating another person's name, title, trade name, avatar, or other methods that may cause confusion), nor shall you maliciously register accounts (including but not limited to frequent registration, bulk registration of accounts, etc.). The Company has the right to review the information you submit. You must comply with relevant laws and regulations during account registration and use, and shall not engage in any acts that infringe upon national interests, harm the legitimate rights and interests of other citizens, or are detrimental to social morality.
3.4 Your registered account is for your personal use only. Without the Company's written consent, it is prohibited to give, lend, rent, transfer, sell, or otherwise permit others to use the account in any form. If the Company discovers or has reasonable grounds to believe that the user is not the original registrant of the account, to ensure account security, the Company has the right to immediately suspend or terminate the provision of services to that registered account and has the right to permanently disable the account. If you have any objections to the handling results, you may contact us through the feedback and complaint interfaces within the Product or by sending an email to feedback@stepchat.cn to appeal to us. We will promptly accept and handle your appeal and provide feedback.
3.5 You are responsible for maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal account and verification code, and you bear full legal responsibility for activities conducted under your registered account, including but not limited to all legal liabilities that may arise from any data modification, statement publication, or other operations you perform on the Product and related services. You should attach great importance to the confidentiality of your account and verification code and shall not disclose them to others under any circumstances. If you discover that someone is using your account without permission or if any other security vulnerabilities occur, you should immediately notify the Company.
3.6 The Company specifically reminds you to properly safeguard your account and verification code. When you have finished using them, you should exit safely. If your account is stolen or your verification code is leaked due to your improper safekeeping or other reasons beyond your control, you will bear the corresponding responsibility.
3.7 When registering, using, and managing your account, you should ensure the authenticity of the information filled in during registration. If the materials you submit or the information you provide is inaccurate, untrue, non-standard, or if the Company has reason to suspect that the information is incorrect, untrue, or illegal, the Company has the right to refuse to provide you with relevant functions. You may not be able to use the Product and related services or some functions may be restricted during use.
4. User Personal Information Protection
The Company and you are committed to the protection of your personal information, and protecting user personal information is one of the Company's basic principles. In the process of using the Product and related services, you may need to provide your personal information to enable the Company to provide you with better services and corresponding technical support. The Company will legally protect your rights to access, copy, correct, supplement, delete relevant personal information, and withdraw authorization. The Company will also use encryption technology, anonymization, or other technical measures compatible with the Product and related services and other security measures to protect your personal information. For more information on user personal information protection, please refer to the "StepFun AI (International Version) Privacy Policy".
5. User Conduct Guidelines
5.1 User Conduct Requirements
You shall be responsible for your conduct when using the Product and related services. Unless permitted by law or with the Company's prior written permission, you shall not engage in the following activities when using the Product and related services:
5.1.1 Using any plugins, external tools, systems, or third-party tools not authorized or licensed by the Company to interfere with, disrupt, modify, or otherwise affect the normal operation of the Product and related services.
5.1.2 Using or targeting the Product and related services for any acts that endanger computer network security, including but not limited to:
(1) Illegal intrusion into networks, interference with normal network functions, theft of network data, and other activities that endanger network security;
(2) Providing programs or tools specifically used for activities that endanger network security, such as intruding into networks, interfering with normal network functions and protective measures, and stealing network data;
(3) Providing technical support, advertising promotion, payment settlement, or other assistance to others knowing that they are engaged in activities that endanger network security;
(4) Using unauthorized data or accessing unauthorized servers/accounts;
(5) Entering public computer networks or other people's computer systems without permission and deleting, modifying, or adding stored information;
(6) Attempting to probe, scan, test the Product's system or network weaknesses or other acts that compromise network security without permission;
(7) Attempting to interfere with or disrupt the normal operation of the Product's system or website, intentionally spreading malicious programs or viruses, and other acts that disrupt normal network information services;
(8) Forging TCP/IP data packet names or parts of names;
(9) Reverse engineering, reverse assembly, reverse compilation, translation, or otherwise attempting to discover the source code, models, algorithms, and system source code or underlying components of the Product;
(10) Maliciously registering accounts for the Product and related services, including but not limited to frequent or bulk registration of accounts;
(11) Developing or servicing applications, products, services, or models that may compete with the Company and/or its affiliates by illegal or non-compliant means;
(12) Other acts that violate laws and regulations, this Agreement, the Company's relevant rules, and infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of others.
5.1.3 Displaying or otherwise providing any user information to any non-original user without the consent of the original user.
5.1.4 Impersonating others or gaining unauthorized access to the Product and related services.
5.1.5 Using or targeting the Product and related services for fraud, deceit, misleading, or deceptive activities, including but not limited to impersonating or labeling answers generated in the Product as human-generated, plagiarism or academic dishonesty, or phishing, and/or engaging in any other illegal or non-compliant activities.
5.1.6 Using the Product and related services in any manner that may infringe on the privacy of any third party, such as illegally collecting or disclosing personally identifiable information or educational, financial, or other protected records.
5.1.7 In addition to the above agreements, you shall also comply with the relevant content of the "Platform Management Rules and Self-Discipline Convention" formulated by the Company during your use of the Product and related services.
5.1.8 If the Company has reason to believe that you are using the Product and related services to engage in illegal activities or may violate the above agreements, the Company may make independent judgments and, depending on the circumstances, take disposal measures without prior notice to you. Disposal measures include but are not limited to warnings, function restrictions, suspension or termination of services, and permanent closure of accounts, and pursuing relevant legal liabilities.
5.2 Information Content Standards
5.2.1 The Company is committed to civilized, rational, friendly, and high-quality communication. While promoting business development, we continuously strengthen our information security management capabilities, earnestly fulfill our social responsibilities, abide by national laws and regulations, respect citizens' legitimate rights and interests, and respect social public order and good customs.
5.2.2 The information you input, output/generate, produce, comment, upload, publish, and disseminate shall consciously comply with laws, administrative regulations, public order, social morality and ethical standards, socialist core values, national interests, respect for the legitimate rights and interests of others, moral customs, and information authenticity; otherwise, the Company has the right to immediately take appropriate handling measures. You shall not, by yourself or allow or assist anyone to use the Product and related services to engage in the following acts:
(1) Opposing the basic principles established by the Constitution;
(2) Endangering national security and interests, disclosing state secrets;
(3) Subverting state power, overthrowing the socialist system, harming the national image, inciting secession, undermining national unity and social stability;
(4) Harming national honor and interests;
(5) Promoting terrorism or extremism;
(6) Promoting ethnic hatred or undermining ethnic unity;
(7) Promoting discrimination or hatred, exploiting any vulnerability of specific groups based on their age, social, physical or mental characteristics, to materially distort the behavior of individuals belonging to such groups, causing or likely to cause physical or psychological harm to that person or another, including but not limited to ethnic discrimination, religious discrimination, nationality discrimination, gender discrimination, sexual orientation discrimination, age discrimination, occupational discrimination, health discrimination, regional discrimination;
(8) Engaging in or assisting illegal or high-risk activities, such as: military and war, development of weapons, explosives or dangerous materials, management or operation of critical infrastructure (such as transportation, energy), creation or distribution of controlled substances or services, generation or dissemination of information related to self-harm, activities with high economic damage risk, including gambling, automatic determination of creditworthiness, employment and education decisions;
(9) Undermining national religious policies, promoting cults and feudal superstitions;
(10) Fabricating or spreading rumors, false information, disrupting economic and social order, and undermining social stability;
(11) Disseminating, propagating, or advocating violence, obscenity, pornography, explicit content, gambling, murder, terror, or instigating crime;
(12) Exploiting, harming, or attempting to exploit or harm minors, damaging the physical and mental health of minors, or infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of minors;
(13) Insulting, slandering, offending, abusing, provoking others, bullying or controlling others, infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of others;
(14) Engaging in violent threats, intimidation, or doxxing others;
(15) Involving others' privacy, personal information, or data;
(16) Spreading vulgar language, harming social public order and good customs;
(17) Violating business ethics, infringing on trade secrets, infringing on others' privacy rights, reputation rights, honor rights, portrait rights, intellectual property rights, trade control, and other legitimate rights and interests;
(18) Disseminating commercial advertisements, or similar commercial solicitation information, excessive marketing information, and spam;
(19) Completely irrelevant to the commented information;
(20) Information published that is meaningless, or intentionally uses character combinations to evade technical review;
(21) Taking or recording others without permission, infringing on others' legitimate rights;
(22) Containing content that is terrifying, bloody, highly dangerous, or harmful to the physical or mental health of performers or others, including but not limited to the following situations:
a. Any content involving violence and/or self-harm;
b. Any content threatening life and health, or using dangerous instruments such as knives to perform acts that endanger the personal and/or property rights of oneself or others;
c. Content that incites or induces others to participate in dangerous or illegal activities that may cause personal injury or death.
(23) Other information that violates laws and regulations, policies, and public order and good customs, interferes with the normal operation of the Product and related services, or infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of other users or third parties.
5.3 You can contact us through the feedback and complaint interfaces within the Product or by sending an email to feedback@stepchat.cn to provide your comments, and to complain about or report various illegal and non-compliant behaviors, illegal dissemination activities, illegal and harmful information, etc.. The Company will promptly accept and handle your complaints and reports to jointly create a clean and upright online environment.
6. Information Content Usage Guidelines
6.1 Without the Company's written permission, no user or third party shall, by themselves or authorize, permit, or assist any other person to engage in the following actions with respect to the information content in the Product and related services:
(1) Copying, reading, or adopting the information content of the Product and related services for commercial purposes including but not limited to promotion, increasing readership, or views;
(2) Unauthorized editing, organizing, or arranging of the information content of the Product and related services and then displaying it on channels other than the source pages of the Product and related services;
(3) Using any form of identification method, including but not limited to special identifiers or special codes, to independently or assist a third party in generating traffic, readership guidance, transfer, hijacking, or other adverse effects on the information content of the Product and related services;
(4) Other acts of illegally obtaining or using the information content of the Product and related services.
6.2 Without the Company's written permission, no user or third party shall, by any means (including but not limited to hotlinking, redundant theft, illegal crawling, simulated downloading, deep linking, fraudulent registration, etc.), directly or indirectly steal text, pictures, videos, or other information content from the Product and related services, or delete, hide, or alter any patent, copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices displayed on or contained within the Product and related services by any means (including but not limited to hiding or modifying domain names, platform-specific identifiers, user names, and patent, copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices).
6.3 After obtaining the Company's written permission, any user or third party's sharing, forwarding, or other actions involving the information content of the software and related services shall also comply with the following guidelines: (1) Take safe, effective, and strict measures to prevent the information content of the software and related services from being illegally obtained by third parties through any form, including but not limited to "spider" programs; (2) Do not use the relevant data content for purposes beyond the scope of the Company's written permission, engage in any form of sale and commercial use, or disclose, provide, or allow third parties to use it in any way; (3) Any act of sharing, forwarding, or copying the information content of the software and related services to any third party shall comply with other rules and standards formulated by the Company for this purpose.
6.4 Unless otherwise stipulated by laws and regulations or agreed upon by the Company and you, you shall not use any content generated by the Product for commercial purposes.
7. Limitation of Liability, Exemptions, and Indemnification
Due to variations in laws across different countries or regions, this Agreement includes clauses applicable only if you are located within the European Economic Area ("EEA"), the United Kingdom, and Switzerland (collectively "EEA+") (Section 7.1), clauses applicable only if you are located in China (Section 7.2) (for clarity, for the purpose of Section 7.2 only, China does not include the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macau Special Administrative Region, and Taiwan, China), and clauses applicable only if you are located in other countries or regions (Section 7.3).
7.1 If you are located within EEA+
This Section 7.1 applies only if you are located within EEA+. To the extent that we have exercised professional diligence, we shall not be liable for any loss or damage unless it: (1) was caused by our breach of this Agreement; or (2) was reasonably foreseeable at the time this Agreement was entered into, meaning it was obvious that it would occur, or it was known to you and us when we entered into this Agreement that it might occur. Nothing in this Agreement is intended to exclude or limit our liability for death or personal injury, fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, or any liability that cannot be excluded by law.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, if we suspect you have breached this Agreement, we will follow these steps. First, we may conduct an investigation, during which we may suspend your access to StepFun AI, and depending on the severity of the suspected breach, to the extent permitted by applicable law and subject to any legal obligations, take action in a reasonable and objective manner. We may decide to temporarily suspend or permanently terminate your access to StepFun AI if: (1) we reasonably and objectively determine, in accordance with laws and regulations, that you have seriously or repeatedly breached this Agreement; (2) we have objective reasons to reasonably believe that you are about to seriously breach this Agreement; (3) we are required to do so by law; or (4) we have objective reasons to reasonably believe that it is necessary to do so when dealing with serious technical or security issues. If you believe that our decision to terminate your access to StepFun AI is incorrect, you can appeal by contacting us at feedback@stepchat.cn. We will then review our decision and make a new decision.
7.2 If you are located in China
This Section 7.2 applies only if you are located in China. For the purpose of Section 7.2 only, China does not include the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macau Special Administrative Region, and Taiwan, China.
Except as otherwise expressly provided by applicable law, in no event shall we be liable for any indirect, consequential, punitive, incidental, special, or exemplary damages, including but not limited to loss of profits suffered by you due to your use of StepFun AI.
You understand and agree that in the process of using the Product and related services, you may encounter force majeure factors (force majeure refers to objective events that cannot be foreseen, overcome, and avoided), including but not limited to natural disasters (such as floods, earthquakes, typhoons, etc.), government actions, wars, strikes, riots, etc. In the event of force majeure, the Company will endeavor to promptly repair it at the first opportunity, but the Company shall be exempt from liability to the extent permitted by laws and regulations for any suspension, interruption, termination of services, or any losses caused by force majeure.
You understand and agree that, regarding the Product and related services, the Company provides no express or implied warranties or conditions of any kind, including but not limited to merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, etc. Your use of the Product and related services is at your own risk.
You understand and agree that this Agreement aims to ensure compliance with national laws and regulations, maintain public order and good customs, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of users and others. The Company will make its best efforts within its capabilities to make judgments in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, but does not guarantee that the Company's judgments will be completely consistent with those of judicial or administrative authorities. You understand and agree to bear the consequences arising therefrom yourself.
7.3 If you are located in other countries or regions
This Section 7.3 applies only if you are located outside the EEA+ as described in Section 7.1 and outside China as described in Section 7.2.
No Representations or Warranties: StepFun AI is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis, and you use it "at your own risk". To the maximum extent permitted by law, we expressly disclaim any and all express or implied representations and warranties regarding StepFun AI, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. We do not warrant that StepFun AI will meet your requirements or that its operation will be uninterrupted or error-free. Information, content, and services related to StepFun AI may contain bugs, errors, problems, or other limitations. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we, our affiliates, and our or their respective directors, officers, employees, agents, service providers, and licensors (collectively, "StepFun AI Parties") shall not be liable for your use of StepFun AI.
Limitation of Liability: To the maximum extent permitted by law, the StepFun AI Parties shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, statutory, contractual, punitive, or other similar damages, or any damages in excess of actual damages, including loss of revenue, loss of profits, loss of data, business interruption, or other intangible losses (regardless of how such losses are characterized) arising out of or in connection with this Agreement or the StepFun AI products and services, whether based on contract, tort, or any other legal theory, and regardless of whether the parties have been advised of the possibility of such losses.
Access at Our Sole Discretion: To the maximum extent permitted by law, we may, at our sole discretion, without further notice, restrict, suspend, modify, or terminate your access to StepFun AI, including if you fail to comply or we suspect you fail to comply or are about to fail to comply with any provision of this Agreement, or in actual or alleged illegal or improper circumstances. Any such termination or suspension shall not affect any other rights we may have under applicable law.
Defense and Indemnification: You agree to defend the StepFun AI Parties against any claims, demands, allegations, investigations, lawsuits, proceedings, or other disputes asserted by any third party arising out of or caused by your use of StepFun AI or your breach of this Agreement. And you agree to indemnify and hold harmless the StepFun AI Parties from any damages, liabilities, assessments, losses, costs, and other expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees and legal costs) incurred as a result of any such disputes. We will promptly notify you of any such dispute and will provide you with reasonable assistance, at your expense, to defend against any such dispute, provided that the failure to provide such notice shall not relieve you of any of your obligations under this Agreement unless you are materially prejudiced by the failure to provide such notice.
Exceptions: Nothing in this Agreement shall exclude or limit any liability for our gross negligence or willful misconduct, or any liability that cannot be excluded by law.
7.4 Third-Party Software, Products, and Services
The Product may contain third-party software, products, or services. If any dispute arises from third-party software, products, or services within the Product, such dispute shall be resolved by the third party, unless otherwise stipulated by laws and regulations or agreed upon in the agreement between the Company and you, the Company shall not bear any responsibility. If you do not comply with the relevant requirements of the third-party software, products, or services, the third party or state agencies may initiate lawsuits, impose fines, or take other sanctions against you and require the Company to provide assistance, and you shall bear the legal responsibilities yourself.
The generated content of the Product and related services may contain links to third-party websites. Such links are provided solely for your convenience of access. Your access to third-party websites and subsequent actions are not related to us, and we are not responsible for the content or services of third-party websites. Please access them cautiously, pay attention to their agreements or documents, and protect your information and property security.
8. Changes, Interruptions, and Termination of Services
8.1 You understand and agree that the Product and related services provided by the Company are provided in their current state as achievable with existing technology and conditions. The Company will exert its best efforts to provide services to you and ensure the continuity and security of the services. You understand that the Company cannot always foresee and prevent technical and other risks, including but not limited to force majeure, network reasons, defects in third-party services, third-party websites, etc., which may lead to service interruptions, inability to use the Product and services normally, and other losses and risks.
8.2 You understand and agree that for the overall service operation and platform operation security, the Company has the right to unilaterally determine the service/function settings and scope, and to modify, interrupt, suspend, or terminate the Product and related services, depending on the specific circumstances. However, please rest assured that in such cases, we will take necessary measures in accordance with legal provisions to protect your legitimate rights and interests.
9. Intellectual Property Rights
9.1 During your use of the Product and related services, you may submit text, images, documents, links, or other content or information (collectively, "Inputs") to the Product and related services, and receive content generated in response to your Inputs (referred to as "Outputs", "Generations").
9.1.1 Between you and the Company, to the extent permitted by applicable law, the intellectual property rights in the Inputs you provide belong to you or the right holder who legally owns those intellectual property rights. However, for the avoidance of doubt, if the Input and/or Output itself contains content for which the Company owns intellectual property rights or other legitimate rights and interests, then the corresponding rights of the aforementioned Input and/or Output shall still be enjoyed by the Company and shall not change their ownership due to being included in the Output.
9.1.2 You understand and promise that all Inputs shall be content for which you possess intellectual property rights or have obtained legal authorization from the right holder, and shall not contain any content that violates applicable laws and regulations, infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of others (including but not limited to intellectual property rights such as copyrights, patent rights, trademark rights, and personality rights, personal information rights, etc.), or violates public order and good customs.
9.1.3 To the extent permitted by applicable law, the intellectual property rights and other property rights (if any) generated from the Output belong to you or the right holder specified by applicable law. To enhance your user experience with the Product and related services, you understand and agree that for all or part of the information content you input, generate, publish, and disseminate through the Product and related services (collectively, "Information Content"), you grant the Company and/or its affiliates a free, worldwide, transferable, sublicensable, and re-sublicensable right to use such Information Content. The Company and/or its affiliates may, to the extent permitted by law and under the premise of secure encryption, strict anonymization, and inability to re-identify specific individuals, use the Information Content for optimizing models and services, brand promotion and publicity, or for statistical analysis, problem identification, security risk control, and other purposes. If you do not wish for us to use such Information Content, you may contact us through the methods published in this Agreement to withdraw your authorization. We also provide a data training ("User Experience Program") switch in the Product. If you choose to turn off the data training switch, we will not use your chat data for model training.
9.1.4 Due to the technical characteristics of large language models and artificial intelligence, the content generated by this Product and services is random and uniqueness cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, you understand and agree that we may output the same or similar generated content to different users. Users may enjoy rights to the output content in accordance with legal provisions and this Agreement, provided that they do not infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of other users.
9.1.5 You understand and agree that, for the purpose of introducing and explaining specific issues and enhancing user experience, the Q&A in this Product may display images from the Internet. To view the original image and obtain complete content, please click on the link attached to the image. We cannot guarantee the legality, accuracy, or completeness of the images. Images may come from third parties, and clicking on the image link will redirect you to a third-party platform. Your subsequent actions on the third-party platform should be carried out in accordance with relevant laws and regulations and the requirements of the third-party platform, and please be cautious when providing your personal information. We assume no responsibility or obligation for your actions on the third-party platform.
9.2 Unless otherwise specified in Section 9.1 of this Agreement, the intellectual property rights and related interests of the content provided by the Company in the Product and related services (including but not limited to software, technology, programs, web pages, text, pictures, images, audio, video, charts, layout design, electronic documents, etc.) belong to the Company or the relevant copyright holders. The copyrights, patent rights, and other intellectual property rights of the software on which the Company relies to provide the Product and related services belong to the Company, its affiliates, or other corresponding right holders. Without the Company's permission, no one shall unauthorizedly use (including but not limited to monitoring, copying, disseminating, displaying, mirroring, uploading, or downloading through any robots, "spiders," or other programs or devices) the content of the Product and related services.
9.3 The Company provides technical support for the development and operation of the Product and enjoys all rights within the scope permitted by laws and regulations to all data and information generated during the development and operation of the Product and related services.
9.4 Please do not, under any circumstances, privately use any of the Company's trademarks, service marks, trade names, domain names, website names, company logos (LOGO), URLs, or other distinctive brand features (hereinafter collectively referred to as "Marks"), including but not limited to "StepFun AI". Without the Company's prior written consent, you shall not display, use, or apply for trademark registration, domain name registration, etc., of the Marks mentioned in this clause, either individually or in combination, nor shall you perform acts that explicitly or implicitly suggest to others that you have the right to display, use, or otherwise deal with such Marks. If you cause losses to the Company or others due to your violation of this Agreement by using the Company's aforementioned trademarks, Marks, etc., you shall bear full legal responsibility.
10. Breach of Contract
10.1 For your violation of this Agreement or other service terms, the Company has the right to independently judge and, depending on the circumstances, take measures such as pre-warning, refusal to publish, immediate cessation of information transmission, deletion of information content, temporary prohibition of content publishing, restriction of some or all account functions until termination of service, and permanent closure of the account. The Company shall not be liable for any consequences arising therefrom, such as your inability to use the account and related services normally, or your inability to obtain assets or other rights within your account normally. The Company has the right to announce the handling results and has the right to decide whether to restore the use of the relevant account based on the actual situation. For acts suspected of violating laws and regulations or suspected of criminal offenses, the Company will preserve relevant records and has the right to report to relevant authorities in accordance with the law, cooperate with relevant authorities in investigations, and report to public security organs, etc. The Company has the right not to restore deleted content.
10.2 If you violate this Agreement or other service terms, leading to third-party complaints or lawsuits, you shall handle them yourself and bear all possible legal liabilities arising therefrom. If your illegal, infringing, or breach of contract acts cause the Company or its affiliates, controlling companies, or successor companies to compensate any third party or suffer penalties from state agencies, you shall also fully compensate the Company and its affiliates, controlling companies, and successor companies for all losses suffered therefrom.
10.3 The Company respects and protects the legitimate rights and interests of users and others, including intellectual property rights, reputation rights, name rights, privacy rights, and portrait rights. You guarantee that when using the Product and related services, the text, pictures, videos, audio, links, etc., input, uploaded, created, commented on, published, or otherwise disseminated do not infringe upon the intellectual property rights, reputation rights, name rights, privacy rights, or other rights and/or legitimate interests of any third party. Otherwise, the Company has the right to remove the suspected infringing content upon receipt of notice from the rights holder or relevant party. You shall handle and bear all possible legal liabilities arising from any claims made by third parties. If your infringing acts cause losses to the Company and its affiliates (including economic losses and reputational losses), you shall also fully compensate the Company and its affiliates for all losses suffered.
11. Minor Protection Clause
11.1 The Product and related services are applicable to adults and minors. If you are under 18 years old or under the age required by your place of residence to use StepFun AI, or if there are other circumstances where you do not meet the legal requirements commensurate with user behavior, please (A) do not use StepFun AI, or (B) read this Agreement under the accompaniment and guidance of a guardian, and ensure that the guardian agrees to the content of this Agreement before using StepFun AI, as required by local law. If you have not obtained the consent of your guardian, the guardian may notify us to handle the relevant account by contacting us through the contact information published in this Agreement. We have the right to restrict the functions and use of relevant accounts, including but not limited to Browse, publishing information, and interactive communication.
11.2 The Company attaches importance to the protection of minors' personal information. Minors should strengthen their personal protection awareness and be cautious when filling in personal information, and should use the Product and related services correctly under the guidance of their guardians.
11.3 Minors and their guardians understand and confirm that if you violate laws and regulations or the content of this Agreement, you and your guardians shall bear all legal responsibilities that may arise therefrom in accordance with legal provisions.
11.4 Special Notice to Minor Users:
(1) Minor users should use StepFun AI and related services under the supervision and guidance of their guardians, learn to use the internet correctly within a reasonable scope, avoid addiction to virtual online spaces, and develop good online habits;
(2) Adolescent users must comply with the "National Youth Network Civilization Convention";
(3) Be good at online learning and do not browse harmful information;
(4) Communicate honestly and friendly, and do not insult or defraud others;
(5) Enhance self-protection awareness, and do not casually meet netizens;
(6) Maintain network security, and do not disrupt network order;
(7) Be beneficial to physical and mental health, and do not indulge in virtual time and space.
11.5 To better protect the privacy rights of minors, we specifically remind you to be cautious when publishing content containing minor materials. Once published, it is deemed that you have obtained the consent of the right holder to use the minor's portrait and other information in this Product and related services, and allow us to use and process such minor-related content in accordance with this Agreement.
11.6 Special Reminder for Guardians: If your ward uses StepFun AI and related services, as a guardian, you should guide and supervise the ward's registration and usage behavior.
12. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
12.1 If you are a non-U.S. user
12.1.1 If you are located outside the United States, the place of execution of this Agreement is Xuhui District, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
12.1.2 The conclusion, effectiveness, performance, interpretation, amendment, termination, and dispute resolution of this Agreement shall be governed by the laws and regulations of the People's Republic of China (for the purposes of this Agreement only, excluding the laws and regulations of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macau Special Administrative Region, and relevant regulations of the Taiwan Region of China). If any provision of this Agreement is invalid or unenforceable due to conflict with the laws of the People's Republic of China, such provisions shall be interpreted and applied as closely as possible to the original intent of this Agreement without violating the law, and the other provisions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.
12.1.3 If any dispute arises between you and the Company, both parties shall strive to resolve it through friendly negotiation. If negotiations fail, you agree to submit the dispute to the people's court in the place where the Company is registered for litigation.
12.2 If you are a U.S. user
12.2.1 If you are located in the United States, the formation, enforceability, modification, termination, and any related disputes of these terms shall be governed by the laws of the state in which you reside in the United States; however, the arbitration clause in this Agreement shall be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act and the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") Consumer Arbitration Rules and Supplementary Rules for Class Arbitrations ("AAA Rules"); if for any reason the AAA declines or is unable to administer the arbitration, then it shall be governed by the National Arbitration and Mediation ("NAM") Comprehensive Dispute Resolution Rules and Procedures and Supplemental Rules for Mass Arbitrations, and modified as set forth in the arbitration clause in this Agreement, as described below.
13. Resolution of Disputes by Binding Arbitration (for individuals located in the U.S.)
You have carefully read this clause and understand that it limits your rights in the event of a dispute. You understand that you have the right to opt out of this clause as provided in Section 13.3 below.
13.1 Choice to Arbitrate
If you are located in the United States, you and we agree that the sole and exclusive jurisdiction and remedy for resolving claims shall be final and binding arbitration under this Section 13 (the "Arbitration Clause"), except as follows:
(1) You opt out in accordance with the provisions of the Preamble and Section 13.3;
(2) Claims falling within the jurisdiction of small claims court and meeting applicable jurisdictional and monetary limits, in which case you and we agree to bring such claims only on an individual (non-class, non-representative) basis in small claims court;
(3) Claims seeking solely injunctive relief (including public injunctive relief) as the sole form of relief; or
(4) Claims seeking both injunctive relief (including public injunctive relief) and non-injunctive relief, in which case you and we will first submit the claims for non-injunctive relief to arbitration under this binding arbitration clause. The arbitrator shall not grant injunctive relief (unless otherwise agreed by both parties). Once the arbitration of non-injunctive relief claims is concluded, you and/or we may seek injunctive relief (including public injunctive relief) in court to the extent permitted by law.
In this Arbitration Clause, "Claim" shall include any past, present, or future claim, dispute, or controversy involving you (or anyone claiming through, affiliated with, or related to you) and us (or anyone claiming through, affiliated with, or related to us), related to your use (or non-use) or access (or non-access) of any product or service we provide, any interaction or communication between you and us, and/or activities or relationships covered by, leading to, or arising from this Agreement (including the validity or enforceability of this Arbitration Clause, any part thereof, or the Agreement as a whole (unless otherwise provided in Sections 13.4, 13.8, and 13.9 below)), regardless of whether the cause of action for such claims arose before the existence of this Agreement. Claims shall be arbitrated whether based on contract, tort (whether intentional or not), fundamental law, statutory law, common law, or equitable principles, or other causes. Claims include initial claims, counterclaims, cross-claims, third-party claims, or other forms. The scope of this Arbitration Clause shall be interpreted as broadly as possible to ensure its enforceability.
13.2 Application of the Federal Arbitration Act; Arbitrator's Rights
This Arbitration Clause is made pursuant to a transaction involving interstate commerce and shall be governed by and enforced under the Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA"). The arbitrator will apply the substantive law of the state in which you reside in the U.S. consistent with the FAA and applicable statutes of limitations. The arbitrator may award damages or other types of relief permitted by the applicable laws of the state in which you reside in the U.S., but shall not violate the limitations set forth in this Arbitration Clause or this Agreement. The arbitrator is not bound by judicial procedure and evidence rules applicable in court. The arbitrator shall take measures to reasonably protect confidential information.
13.3 Opt-Out of Arbitration Clause
For any purpose, you may opt out of this Arbitration Clause by sending an arbitration opt-out notice to feedback@stepchat.cn within 45 days of electronically accepting this Agreement. The opt-out notice must clearly state your refusal to arbitrate; provide your name, address, email address, and phone number; and be signed by you (signing can be done by providing your name at the end of the email). No other method may be used to opt out of this Arbitration Clause. If the opt-out notice is sent on your behalf by a third party, that third party must provide a notarized power of attorney demonstrating their authority to submit the opt-out notice on your behalf. If you only choose to opt out of the Arbitration Clause, but not the class action waiver, the class action waiver still applies. You cannot opt out of the class action waiver only without opting out of the Arbitration Clause. If you choose to opt out of the Arbitration Clause and/or the class action waiver, we will also not be bound by them.
13.4 Mandatory Informal Dispute Resolution
In the event of a Claim, we aim to understand and resolve the issue for you; if we cannot achieve this to your satisfaction, we will provide you with a neutral, cost-effective, and swift dispute resolution method. You and we agree that resolving any Claim through good faith informal means is beneficial to both parties. Therefore, you and we agree that before either party initiates arbitration against the other (or before initiating a lawsuit in small claims court, if the claim falls within the jurisdiction of small claims court), we will personally meet and negotiate via phone or video conference in good faith to informally resolve any Claim covered by this Arbitration Clause (the "Informal Dispute Resolution Conference"). If you or we are represented by counsel, your or our counsel may attend the conference, but you also agree to attend, and we also agree that a non-lawyer representative will attend. The party initiating the Claim must provide written notice to the other party of its intent to initiate an Informal Dispute Resolution Conference (the "Notice"). Your email notifying us of your intent to initiate an Informal Dispute Resolution Conference should be sent to feedback@stepchat.cn with the subject line "Dispute Notice". The Notice must include: (1) your name, (2) address, (3) the email address you use to communicate with us (if any), (4) username, (5) transaction confirmation or other information under complaint (if any), (6) date of transaction (if applicable), (7) a brief description of the nature of the complaint, and (8) the resolution you seek (collectively, "Required Information"). If your dispute notice does not contain all Required Information (or does not explain why it cannot be included), such dispute notice is invalid, and you must resubmit before initiating any arbitration or other legal action against us. This requirement is intended to notify us of your outstanding complaint. If we initiate a claim, we will send you the same information (if applicable).
The Informal Dispute Resolution Conference shall be individualized, meaning that a separate conference must be held each time either party initiates a claim, even if the same law firm or group of law firms represents multiple users in similar cases, unless all parties agree otherwise; multiple individuals initiating claims cannot participate in the same Informal Dispute Resolution Conference, unless all parties agree. You and we agree to attempt to resolve the dispute informally within sixty (60) days from the date of the dispute notice, including attending at least one Informal Dispute Resolution Conference within those sixty (60) days. Before commencing arbitration, a sixty (60) day attempt to resolve the dispute informally and attending at least one Informal Dispute Resolution Conference is a prerequisite and requirement that must be met. During the Informal Dispute Resolution Conference process required by this Section, the statute of limitations and any filing fee deadlines shall be tolled. Any dispute regarding the validity, enforceability, or compliance with the mandatory informal dispute resolution requirements in this Section 14.4 shall be decided solely by a court, and not by an administrator or any arbitrator.
13.5 Arbitration Procedure
The party initiating arbitration shall file for arbitration with the AAA. When and only when the AAA declines to administer the arbitration for any reason or is unable to administer the arbitration for any reason, you agree that the arbitration will instead be administered by NAM. Unless the arbitrator determines that a party's right to fundamental fair procedure will be impaired without an in-person hearing, any hearing will be conducted online. The arbitration shall be conducted in accordance with the rules and policies of the administering authority used, unless these rules conflict with this Arbitration Clause or are prohibited by any conflicting law. You can contact the AAA to obtain the current rules, forms, and instructions for initiating arbitration by visiting the AAA website or by writing to American Arbitration Association, Case Filing Services, 1101 Laurel Oak Road, Suite 100, Voorhees, NJ 08043. You can obtain the current rules, forms, and instructions for initiating arbitration from NAM by visiting the NAM website. If the rules and policies of the administering authority conflict with this Arbitration Clause, this Arbitration Clause shall prevail unless otherwise agreed by all parties to the arbitration and not prohibited by any conflicting law. The arbitration will be conducted by a single arbitrator, who will be selected by the parties from the administrator's roster of consumer dispute arbitrators. If the parties are unable to agree on an arbitrator within thirty-five (35) days after the arbitration notice is served, the administrator will appoint the arbitrator in accordance with the applicable administrator rules. You agree that the arbitration will be conducted in English. In the case of an in-person hearing, the hearing will be held in the U.S. county of your residence or any other location we agree to. You and we agree that, in the case of an in-person hearing, any of our employees, witnesses, or representatives and your witnesses residing more than 150 miles from the hearing location may participate via phone or video conference without being physically present. Generally, pre-hearing information exchange shall be limited to the reasonable production of non-privileged documents directly relevant to the dispute. Unless the arbitrator determines that other forms of information exchange are necessary to provide fundamental fair procedure, these documents shall be limited to your account records and communications with us directly related to the transaction under this dispute. Any questions regarding discovery, or its relevance or scope, shall be decided by the arbitrator, and the arbitrator's decision shall be final. Any arbitration shall be confidential, and unless required by law or for the purpose of enforcing an arbitral award, neither party may disclose the existence, content, or outcome of the arbitration.
13.6 Arbitration Fees
Each party will bear its respective arbitration initiation costs, but if the total amount of your claim is less than $1,000, we will reimburse you for the filing fee upon your written request for reimbursement and submission of documentation demonstrating insufficient funds to cover the fee. If you can demonstrate that the cost of arbitration is prohibitive compared to the cost of litigation, we will pay the fees and costs associated with the arbitration that the arbitrator deems necessary to prevent the cost of arbitration from exceeding the cost of litigation. If the AAA's Consumer Arbitration and Mediation Fee Schedule (available on the AAA website) or another administrative body's class arbitration fee schedule is applicable to such circumstances, then to the extent permitted by the AAA or other administrative body's requirements, that fee schedule shall take precedence over any other statements in this Agreement, unless you can demonstrate that the cost of arbitration is prohibitive compared to the cost of litigation, in which case we will reimburse you for the filing fee upon your written request for reimbursement and submission of documentation demonstrating insufficient funds to cover the fee.
We will pay for one day of the administering authority's full-day arbitration hearing fees. Hearing fees exceeding one day shall be paid by the requesting party unless otherwise provided by the rules of the administering authority or applicable law, or at your request and with our agreement to pay. Unless otherwise provided by law, each party shall bear its own attorneys' fees, expert and witness fees and expenses, and the costs and expenses of preparing and discovering evidence for arbitration. If a statute grants you or us the right to recover any such fees, then notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, such statutory rights shall apply to such arbitration.
13.7 Arbitration Award and Appeal
Within 30 days after the arbitrator issues a final award, either party may appeal the award, requesting reconsideration by a three-arbitrator panel selected according to the arbitration administration's rules. If such an appeal is filed, any opposing party may file a cross-appeal within 30 days of receiving notice of the appeal. The panel will reconsider all aspects of the appealed initial award. As with the initial arbitration proceedings, the costs and manner of any appeal shall be determined by this Arbitration Clause and the rules of the administering authority. Except for any rights of appeal provided for by the FAA, any award not appealed by the sole arbitrator and the panel's appeal award shall be final and binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.
13.8 Batch Arbitration
Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary above, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you and we agree that if 25 or more claimants submit similar arbitration requests (i.e., asserting the same or similar facts or claims and seeking the same or substantially similar relief), and all parties are represented by the same or coordinated counsel ("Mass Filings"), the following rules shall apply:
(1) The administrator shall manage the arbitration requests in batches of 100 requests (or, if fewer than 100 requests constitute a batch, as close to 100 requests as possible), with each party paying one set of filing and administrative fees per batch.
(2) For each batch, the administrator shall appoint a single substantive arbitrator.
(3) The administrator has the discretion to reduce any applicable fees, costs, and expenses.
(4) Multiple batches may be arbitrated concurrently. The arbitration award of one batch shall have no precedential effect on subsequent batches managed.
(5) You and we shall cooperate with each other and the administrator in good faith to implement this batch arbitration procedure with a view to minimizing arbitration costs. Any disagreement between the parties regarding the applicability or the process or procedures of batch processing shall be resolved by a procedural arbitrator appointed by the administrator.
(6) For matters and issues not covered by this Arbitration Clause, the administrator's mass arbitration rules and procedures shall apply. In case of conflict between this Arbitration Clause and the administrator's mass arbitration rules, this Arbitration Clause shall prevail.
This batch clause shall in no way be construed as increasing the number of claims required to trigger the application of the administrator's mass arbitration rules or authorizing any form of class arbitration.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, any party's challenge to the applicability, validity, or enforceability of this batch arbitration clause shall be decided solely by a court of competent jurisdiction, and not by an arbitrator. If this batch arbitration clause is found to be invalid or unenforceable, or if the administrator refuses to enforce this batch arbitration clause for any reason, then the entire arbitration clause will be void when 25 or more individual claimants submit similar arbitration requests (i.e., asserting the same or similar facts or claims and seeking the same or substantially similar relief), and all parties are represented by the same or coordinated counsel. However, the class action waiver as described below shall continue to apply to the extent permitted by law.
13.9 Prohibition of Class Actions
You and we agree that any arbitration or lawsuit shall not be conducted on a class, representative, or consolidated basis (including in the form of arbitration on behalf of others as a private attorney general), even if one or more claims subject to arbitration or litigation were previously raised (or could have been raised) in court through a class, representative, or consolidated action. Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent you from separately seeking public injunctive relief outside of court arbitration, and any such application shall not be deemed a violation of the arbitration clause or a waiver of your right to arbitrate your individual claims. You and we agree that any claims for damages and/or relief other than public injunctive relief can only be heard in court after all arbitrable claims have been arbitrated, and any claims for public injunctive relief or portions thereof will be stayed in accordance with Section 3 of the FAA until the arbitration outcome is available. If you file a lawsuit in court seeking public injunctive relief before satisfying the prerequisites for the mandatory informal dispute resolution procedure or the arbitration clause, you will waive your right to seek damages from us or our affiliates for any claims under this Agreement. Unless written consent is obtained from all parties to the arbitration, no party to the arbitration may bring claims on behalf of two or more individuals or unrelated corporate entities in the same arbitration by joining, consolidating, or otherwise, unless these individuals are parties to the same transaction.
No administering authority or arbitrator shall have the power to waive, modify, or not enforce the "Prohibition of Class Actions" clause, and any attempt to waive, modify, or not enforce this clause, whether through rules, policies, arbitration awards, or otherwise, shall be null and void and unenforceable. Any challenge to the validity of the prohibition of arbitration on a class, representative, or consolidated basis in this Section 9.9 shall be decided solely by a court and not by the administering authority or any arbitrator. If a court rules that the limitations in this paragraph are deemed invalid or unenforceable, any presumed class action, private attorney general action, or consolidated or representative action must be filed in a court of proper jurisdiction, and not in arbitration.
13.10 Survival and Severability of Arbitration Clause
This Arbitration Clause shall survive the termination of this Agreement. If any part of this Arbitration Clause (except for the batch arbitration clause in Section 9.8 and the clause prohibiting class or consolidated arbitration in Section 9.9) is deemed invalid or unenforceable, that specific part shall be ineffective and severed, and the remaining parts of this Arbitration Clause shall remain in full force and effect. For the avoidance of doubt, this means that if the batch arbitration clause in Section 9.8 is found by law to be invalid or unenforceable when 25 or more individual claimants submit similar arbitration requests and are represented by the same or coordinated counsel, or if the clause in Section 9.9 prohibiting the filing of class or consolidated actions is found by law to be invalid or unenforceable to any extent, then you agree that the entire Arbitration Clause will be invalid. In no event shall any invalidity be deemed to authorize an arbitrator to make an award or decision on claims beyond the scope authorized by this Arbitration Clause.
13.11 No Jury Trial
To the extent permitted by applicable law, you and we agree to waive the right to a jury trial.
13.12 Waiver of Litigation Rights
You understand that by agreeing to this service agreement, you and we hereby waive any constitutional and statutory rights to sue in court and have a trial before a judge or jury. You and we elect to resolve all claims through arbitration under this Arbitration Clause, unless otherwise provided in Section 14.1 above. There is no judge or jury in arbitration, and court review of an arbitration award is very limited.
14. Others
14.1 To provide you with better services or due to changes in national laws and regulations, policies, technical conditions, product functions, etc., the Company will revise this Agreement from time to time, and the revised content shall constitute an integral part of this Agreement. To facilitate your timely awareness of the latest version of this Agreement, you can check it on the relevant pages of the Product and related services. Your continued use of the Product and related services indicates your agreement to accept the revised content of this Agreement.
14.2 If you have any objections to the revised terms of the agreement, please immediately stop logging in or using the Product and related services. If you continue to log in or use the Product and related services, it will be deemed that you acknowledge and accept the revised terms of the agreement.
14.3 The Company has the right to unilaterally decide, arrange, or designate its affiliates or third-party companies recognized by the Company to continue operating the Product, based on the needs of the Product and related services or its operations. Furthermore, for certain services under this Agreement, they may be provided to you by the Company's affiliates or third-party companies recognized by the Company. You acknowledge and agree that your acceptance of relevant service content is deemed your acceptance that the related rights and obligations are also bound by this Agreement.
14.4 The headings in this Agreement are for convenience and reading purposes only and do not affect the meaning or interpretation of any provision in this Agreement.
14.5 You and the Company are independent entities, and in no event does this Agreement constitute any form of express or implied guarantee or condition by the Company to you, nor does it constitute an agency, partnership, joint venture, or employment relationship between the parties.