The terms, policies, and legal ground rules that govern GripeNation: how we handle your data, what you're agreeing to by using this site, and how we respond to legal pressure. Long, but worth reading.
This policy explains what information GripeNation collects when you use this site, why we collect it, and what rights you have over it.
What we collectWe do not require an account to submit a gripe or read our reporting. We do not run advertising trackers, and we do not sell, rent, or trade personal information to third parties, including the companies or institutions named in a gripe.
How we use itSubmission content is used to review your gripe editorially, identify patterns across other submissions, and, if you provided contact information, follow up with you about your specific case. Aggregated, de-identified data (e.g., "how many gripes we received about a category last month") may be used internally to guide coverage decisions.
AnonymityYou may submit a gripe without providing any contact information. If you do provide an email address, it is used only for editorial follow-up and is never published, and never shared with the company or institution named in your gripe, without your explicit, separate permission.
Data retentionWe retain submitted gripes for as long as they remain relevant to active or potential reporting. You may request deletion of your submission and any associated contact information at any time; see Contact below.
Your rightsYou can ask us at any time to: tell you what information we hold about a submission you made, correct inaccurate information, or delete your submission and contact information from our records. We will respond to verified requests within a reasonable time.
Children's privacyGripeNation is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 13.
You must be at least 18 years old, or have permission from a parent or guardian, to submit a gripe or otherwise use this site.
Submitting a gripeWhen you submit a gripe, you confirm that the account you're giving is true and accurate to the best of your knowledge, and that you are not submitting it to harass, defame, or maliciously target any person or organization without a good-faith basis.
By submitting content to GripeNation, you grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, edit, excerpt, and publish that content, in whole or in part, with or without attribution to you, as part of our editorial process. You retain ownership of what you submit; you're licensing it to us, not signing it away.
Editorial discretionSubmitting a gripe does not obligate GripeNation to investigate, publish, or respond to it. We independently decide what to review, verify, and publish, and we may decline, edit, or delay coverage of any submission for any editorial reason.
Prohibited conductGripeNation's published reporting, design, and branding are our property or used under license. You may share links to our published work and quote brief excerpts with attribution. Republishing full articles or substantial portions requires our written permission. Contact us using the details in Contact.
No warrantyThis site and its content are provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, express or implied. We do not guarantee that the site will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure.
Limitation of liabilityTo the fullest extent permitted by law, GripeNation and its staff will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of this site or reliance on its content. Our published reporting reflects our editorial process at the time of publication and is not a substitute for legal, financial, or medical advice.
IndemnificationYou agree to indemnify and hold GripeNation harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable legal fees, arising from content you submit or your violation of these terms.
Third-party linksOur resource pages link to external organizations and government agencies for your convenience. We don't control those sites and aren't responsible for their content or availability.
TerminationWe reserve the right to refuse service, remove content, or restrict access to anyone who violates these terms.
GripeNation does not alter, retract, or withhold reporting in response to informal threats, cease-and-desist letters, or pressure campaigns. Every investigation we publish has already gone through fact-checking and a right-of-reply process. See our full editorial standards for how that process works.
Phone calls, social media messages, or emails asserting that a piece is "defamatory," "illegal," or otherwise objectionable, without identifying a specific factual claim believed to be false and the evidence supporting that belief, will not be treated as a formal legal notice and will not result in any change to published content.
How to send a formal noticeIf you believe published content about you or your organization is factually inaccurate, submit a written request that includes:
Send this to the address in Contact. We review every properly documented request against our original sourcing and will issue a correction where warranted. See our Corrections policy for how that process works.
Anti-SLAPPGripeNation publishes matters of public concern based on documented reader complaints and independent verification. Where applicable law provides protection against strategic lawsuits intended to suppress or chill that reporting (commonly known as anti-SLAPP statutes), we intend to assert every available protection, including recovery of legal fees where permitted.
Third-party (user-submitted) contentGripes submitted by readers reflect the submitter's own account of their experience, not a factual assertion by GripeNation, unless and until that account has been independently verified and incorporated into our published reporting through our editorial process.
If you believe material on GripeNation infringes a copyright you own or control, send a written notice to the address in Contact identifying the copyrighted work, the material you believe is infringing and its location on our site, and your contact information. We will review and respond to properly documented claims.
GripeNation is a journalism outlet, not a law firm, financial advisor, or medical provider. Nothing published on this site, including our Resources pages, constitutes legal, financial, or medical advice. If you're dealing with a specific legal, financial, or medical issue, consult a qualified professional.
Submitting a gripe does not create an attorney-client relationship, a journalist-source privilege beyond what applicable law independently provides, or any guarantee of coverage.
These terms are governed by the laws of the jurisdiction in which GripeNation is organized, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. If any provision of these terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full effect.
We may update this page as GripeNation grows. Material changes will be reflected here. Continued use of the site after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.
Formal legal notices, correction requests, copyright claims, and privacy requests should be submitted in writing with the details described above. Informal complaints sent through other channels will not be treated as formal notices.
Read Our Editorial Standards