Community Guidelines

Last Updated: 06/24/2020

CommunityPetition.com ("CommunityPetition") is an open platform. As such, we're committed to free speech. You'll see a wide variety of petitions here that have been created by people in the community. Anyone can use CommunityPetition.com no matter who they are, where they live or what they believe in, as long as they follow simple rules that helps keep our community and platform as safe and open as it can be for everyone. These rules applicable to all campaigns, posts, petitions, comments, and even usernames.

To help us accomplish this, we've put together these Community Guidelines that, accompanied with our Terms of Service, defines what is acceptable at CommunityPetition.com

Do Not

  • No violence – We don’t allow content that directly incites, glorifies, supports or encourages violence against anyone – this includes support for violent groups or individuals. No matter how passionately you feel about an issue, don’t use calls for violence to express your feelings or support the same behavior from others
  • No hate speech – On CommunityPetition.com we consider hate speech to be any content that directly or indirectly attacks an entire class of people because of a characteristic they share. Don’t post content which attacks anyone based on their:
    • age
    • color
    • disability
    • ethnic origin
    • gender identity
    • nationality
    • national origin
    • race
    • religion
    • sex
    • sexual orientation
    • medical condition, or
    • veteran status
  • We do not permit content (including symbols and logos) from organizations recognized as hate groups or individuals linked to them on CommunityPetition.com. We will also consider content which supports those groups, individuals or their aims to be in breach of the Community Guidelines
  • Do not mislead others — We will remove content which is verifiably incorrect and which has the potential to cause harm to our users.
  • Do not impersonate others — CommunityPetition.com is designed to share the stories of real people, supporting real issues. You need to use your email address to start or sign a petition and we don’t allow multiple accounts. Don’t sign petitions for other people, use anyone else’s email address, or impersonate people, including public figures or organizations.
  • Do not violate other's privacy — Majority of the content on CommunityPetition.com is public, so respect the privacy of anyone else you mention. Don’t post private information, like private email addresses, identification documents, credit card numbers, home addresses, private telephone numbers, or photographs of people in private settings posted without their consent.
  • Do not bully — You can be influential and respectful at the same time. When working to persuade decision makers and other users, focus on people’s actions rather than their personal characteristics. While we expect debate and disagreement, we don’t tolerate abuse, stalking, threats, trolling, or any form of bullying.
  • Do not be unnecessarily graphic — Emotionally powerful content can make or break a campaign. Graphic content can be used to condemn behavior or show the seriousness of an issue, however give other users a warning about such content, where possible. Don’t post gratuitously violent, sexually explicit, or needlessly upsetting images and words.
  • Do not cause harm to children — Only parents and legal guardians have the right to post content about their children online, including images. Don’t use CommunityPetition.com to post content that violates laws on child protection, child pornography, or sexual exploitation. We want to protect children, which is one of the reasons why you have to be 16 years or older to use CommunityPetition.com.
  • Do not spam — CommunityPetition.com is for issues of public interest. It’s OK to have a commercial interest in your petition’s success, but you shouldn’t use the platform to directly sell products or services, send bulk, unsolicited communications, or for any other spam-like behavior.
  • Do not include personal information such as your email address, telephone number or bank details in anything you post on CommunityPetition.com
  • Do not break the law - You can use CommunityPetition.com to raise awareness about laws you want to change, but this isn’t a platform for illegal activity. Make sure that your use of CommunityPetition.com doesn’t violate applicable national law, including laws protecting the rights of other people. For example, make sure you have evidence for claims you make, as we may have to remove content that is established to be defamatory.

As a reminder, “content” refers to the text and images in petitions, usernames, comments, and anything else you contribute to the platform. If we discover that your content violates our Community Guidelines or Terms of Service, we reserve the right to remove it. If you post content that is a serious or repeated breach of the rules, we may suspend or close your account.