Terms and Conditions

1. Agreement to Terms

By accessing or using TellSomeone in any way, you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree with any part of these terms, you must not use our service. These terms apply to all visitors, users, and others who access or use the service.

TellSomeone is a secure crime reporting platform designed to collect reports of serious wrongdoing, particularly group-based sexual exploitation, institutional abuse and cover-ups, systemic safeguarding failures, and threats to vulnerable people. We operate under English common law as an unincorporated partnership, hosted securely in the United States with First Amendment protections.

2. What TellSomeone Is and Is Not

TellSomeone is: A secure, encrypted platform for reporting serious wrongdoing to qualified safeguarding professionals, barristers, and investigators. We triage reports within 48 hours, maintain strict confidentiality within legal limits, comply with UK safeguarding law, and refer matters to appropriate authorities when required by law or safeguarding necessity.

TellSomeone is not: An emergency service, legal advice provider, therapeutic service, or counselling organisation. If someone is in immediate physical danger, call 999. We cannot provide emergency intervention, legal counsel, therapy, or guarantee specific outcomes from third parties such as police or social services.

3. Your Responsibilities as a User

Truth and Good Faith

All reports must be honest and made in good faith. You must not deliberately submit false, malicious, or defamatory information. Making false reports may constitute criminal offences under the Communications Act 2003 or other legislation, and may result in prosecution. We reserve the right to refer suspected false reporting to relevant authorities.

Lawful Use Only

You must not use this platform to threaten, harass, intimidate, or commit illegal acts. You must not submit copyrighted material without proper authorisation, share personal data of others without lawful basis, or use the platform to facilitate criminal activity. Violation of these terms may result in immediate suspension of access and referral to law enforcement.

Understanding Confidentiality Limits

Whilst we protect confidentiality wherever possible, we are legally obligated to disclose information in certain circumstances. We must disclose information when required by court order, when there is an immediate threat to life or safety, when child protection concerns arise under the Children Act 1989 and 2004, when statutory safeguarding duties apply under the Care Act 2014, or when we suspect ongoing criminal activity that poses risk to public safety.

Age and Capacity Considerations

If you are under 16 years of age, we strongly encourage you to involve a trusted adult in your submission. However, we recognise that this may not always be possible or safe. If you lack mental capacity to make decisions about your submission, please ensure that appropriate support is available or that a person with lasting power of attorney assists you. We will handle all reports from young people or vulnerable adults with particular care and in accordance with safeguarding best practice.

4. Our Obligations and Commitments

What We Promise to Do

We commit to handling all submissions with secure, encrypted technology compliant with industry standards. Every report will be triaged within 48 hours by qualified professionals with enhanced DBS clearance and safeguarding training. We will comply fully with UK safeguarding law, including the Children Act 1989 and 2004, Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023, and the Care Act 2014. When safeguarding concerns arise, we will refer matters to appropriate statutory authorities in accordance with our legal obligations.

We maintain a complete audit trail of all actions taken, with encrypted logs retained for seven years. All partners and staff undergo rigorous vetting and regular safeguarding training. We will respond to lawful disclosure requests from UK authorities whilst protecting reporter anonymity wherever legally possible.

What We Cannot Promise

We cannot guarantee specific outcomes from third parties, including police forces, social services, or other statutory agencies. Their response depends on their own policies, resources, and assessment of the information provided. We cannot promise absolute confidentiality, as safeguarding obligations and legal requirements sometimes override confidentiality commitments.

Whilst we strive for 100% uptime, we cannot guarantee continuous availability due to technical maintenance, cyber security measures, or external factors beyond our control. We are not liable for any consequences of system downtime or technical failures, though we maintain robust backup systems and security measures.

5. Data Processing and Privacy

Your personal data is processed voluntarily in accordance with UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, and our comprehensive Privacy Policy. We process information under several lawful bases, primarily legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)) for safeguarding duties, vital interests (Article 6(1)(d)) where life or safety is at risk, and substantial public interest (Article 9(2)(g)) for crime prevention and safeguarding purposes.

Data and infrastructure is hosted on encrypted servers exclusively located in the United States of America. Limited metadata may be processed on US-based infrastructure under strict contractual safeguards and EU-US Data Privacy Framework protections. A comprehensive Transfer Impact Assessment governs any international data movements.

6. Limitation of Liability

TellSomeone operates as an unincorporated partnership under English common law. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we exclude liability for actions or failures to act by third parties, including but not limited to police forces, social services, healthcare providers, or other statutory agencies. We are not responsible for their decisions, delays, or inadequate responses.

We exclude liability for technical failures, including but not limited to server downtime, data transmission errors, cyber attacks by third parties, or loss of data due to circumstances beyond our reasonable control. Our liability for any direct damages is limited to £100 per incident, reflecting our status as a voluntary public interest organisation.

We exclude all liability for indirect, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to loss of opportunity, psychological harm from third party actions, financial losses resulting from delayed responses, or reputational damage arising from lawful disclosures made under statutory obligations.

Nothing in these terms excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud, or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot be excluded under English law.

7. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless TellSomeone and its partners against any claims, damages, or legal costs arising from your misuse of the service, submission of deliberately false or malicious reports, violation of these terms, or breach of any applicable law. This includes reasonable legal costs incurred in defending against defamation claims resulting from false submissions.

8. Termination and Suspension

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate access to TellSomeone for violations of these terms, suspected misuse, or when required by law enforcement agencies. However, we will always prioritise safeguarding considerations over enforcement actions, particularly where vulnerable individuals are involved.

In cases involving urgent safeguarding concerns, we may continue to process existing reports even if access has been suspended, in accordance with our statutory obligations under the Children Act and Care Act.

9. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms and Conditions are governed by the law of England and Wales. Any disputes arising from these terms or use of TellSomeone will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

Whilst our servers benefit from First Amendment protections in the United States, our operations, safeguarding duties, and legal obligations are governed entirely by UK law. We comply with UK legislation including the Children Act 1989 and 2004, Care Act 2014, Data Protection Act 2018, and all applicable safeguarding guidance.

10. Changes to Terms

We may update these Terms and Conditions annually or as required by changes in law, safeguarding guidance, or operational necessity. Material changes will be highlighted prominently on our website and will take effect 30 days after publication, unless emergency changes are required for safeguarding or legal compliance purposes.

Continued use of TellSomeone after updated terms take effect constitutes acceptance of the new terms. If you do not agree to updated terms, you must cease using the service, though we will continue to process any existing reports in accordance with our safeguarding obligations.

11. Contact Information

If you have questions about these Terms and Conditions, require clarification about our policies, or need to exercise your data protection rights, you may contact us through:

• • The secure contact form available on our website
• • Email to our Data Protection Officer: [email protected]

For urgent safeguarding concerns that cannot wait for our standard response times, contact your local police force on 101 or emergency services on 999.