These Community Guidelines (the "Guidelines") describe the rules that apply to everyone who uses any product, website, application, or service made available by Turtles.com Inc. and its Affiliates (collectively, "Turtles," "we," "us," or "our") (the "Service"), including casual visitors, holders of a Turtles Account, Operators of Turtles-powered marketplaces, Sellers that list and sell goods or services on those marketplaces, and Shoppers that browse or transact on them.

These Guidelines are part of, and incorporated by reference into, our Terms of Use, the Marketplace Service Agreement ("MSA"), the Seller Service Agreement ("SSA"), and any other agreement between Turtles and a User (collectively, the "Agreement"). Capitalized terms not defined here have the meanings given in those documents. Violating these Guidelines is a material breach of the Agreement and may result in content removal, account suspension, account termination, withholding of funds, recovery of losses, and referral to law enforcement.

1. Our principles

Turtles provides the infrastructure that powers online marketplaces. To keep that ecosystem trustworthy, we expect every User to:

• Be honest. Don't deceive other users or us — about who you are, what you sell, what you've bought, what you've reviewed, or how you behave.
• Be lawful. Don't use the Service to do anything illegal, anywhere your activity touches.
• Be safe. Don't put other users, our staff, or the public at risk — physically, financially, emotionally, or digitally.
• Be respectful. Treat other users, operator staff, seller staff, and Turtles personnel with civility.
• Be a steward. If you build or operate on top of Turtles, take the same care with the trust placed in your marketplace that we take with the trust placed in ours.

2. Scope and applicability

These Guidelines apply to all activity on, through, or in connection with the Service, including:

• listings, descriptions, photos, videos, and other content on a Turtles-powered marketplace;
• on-platform messaging, reviews, ratings, support tickets, and dispute communications;
• API and developer activity, integrations, and the use of our SDKs and webhooks;
• off-platform conduct toward Turtles employees, Operators, Sellers, Shoppers, or third parties when that conduct is connected to the User's use of the Service;
• and any other activity directed at, conducted through, or facilitated by the Service.

Operators may adopt their own marketplace policies that are more restrictive than these Guidelines. They may not adopt policies that are less restrictive, except to the extent expressly authorized by Turtles in writing.

3. Prohibited content

You may not upload, list, post, transmit, link to, or otherwise make available any content that:

3.1 Illegal or infringing

• Violates Applicable Law (including consumer protection, advertising, export, sanctions, securities, anti-corruption, or product-safety law);
• Infringes a third party's intellectual property, including counterfeit, replica, knock-off, "first copy," "1:1," "AAA," "mirror-image," or unauthorized branded goods;
• Uses another party's name, trademark, trade dress, brand, persona, or copyrighted material without authorization;
• Misappropriates trade secrets or other proprietary or confidential information;
• Violates rights of publicity, privacy, or personality.

3.2 Other prohibited content

• Content that exploits, endangers, or sexualizes minors;
• Content that depicts, promotes, or facilitates human trafficking, slavery, forced labor, or non-consensual conduct;
• Content that depicts, promotes, or facilitates terrorism or violent extremism;
• Content that depicts, promotes, or facilitates self-harm or suicide;
• Content that depicts gratuitous violence or animal cruelty.

We will cooperate with law enforcement on these matters as required or permitted by law.

3.3 Hate, harassment, and threats

• Content that promotes, incites, glorifies, or facilitates violence or discrimination against individuals or groups based on a protected characteristic (including race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, caste, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, serious disease, or veteran status);
• Targeted harassment, doxxing, stalking, or threats against any individual;
• Coordinated abuse, raid, or pile-on campaigns.

3.4 Sexual content (adult)

We do not permit pornography, escort services, or sexually explicit goods or content on our general-purpose Service. Operators that wish to operate adult marketplaces must do so under a separate, written agreement with Turtles, which sets forth the regulatory, age-verification, payments, and content-moderation requirements.

3.5 Dangerous, regulated, or restricted goods and services

You may not list, sell, advertise, or facilitate transactions in goods or services that are illegal, restricted, or that we otherwise prohibit, including (this list is illustrative, not exhaustive):

• Controlled substances; cannabis, kratom, and related products outside jurisdictions and channels expressly authorized;
• Prescription drugs and devices except through licensed channels;
• Tobacco, vaping, and nicotine products outside authorized channels;
• Firearms, ammunition, explosives, fireworks, weapons, and components or parts thereof; replicas indistinguishable from real firearms;
• Live animals, unprocessed animal parts, ivory, bushmeat, and goods regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) outside authorized channels;
• Hazardous, radioactive, or recalled goods;
• Goods stolen, smuggled, or otherwise obtained unlawfully;
• Human remains or organs;
• Goods or services subject to U.S. or other applicable export controls or sanctions;
• Goods or services that facilitate fraud, identity theft, the manufacture of false identification, the circumvention of digital rights management, or the unauthorized access to computers or accounts;
• Lock-picking, "skimmer," or other devices marketed to bypass physical or electronic security;
• Adult-only goods or services in violation of Section 3.4;
• Goods or services prohibited by an Operator's marketplace policy.

3.6 Misleading, deceptive, or fraudulent

• False, misleading, or unsubstantiated claims about products, services, prices, availability, sponsorship, certification, or origin;
• "Bait-and-switch," undisclosed paid endorsements, or other practices prohibited by the FTC Endorsement Guides or analogous law;
• Synthetic or AI-generated content presented as authentic, including deepfakes of real people without consent;
• Astroturfing, sockpuppeting, or other forms of inauthentic engagement.

3.7 Malicious

• Malware, ransomware, spyware, viruses, worms, Trojans, keyloggers, or other harmful code;
• Phishing, credential-harvesting, or social-engineering content;
• Unauthorized advertising, surveillance, or location tracking technology.

4. Prohibited conduct

In addition to content rules, the following conduct is prohibited:

4.1 Manipulation

• Manipulating, fabricating, brigading, or incentivizing reviews, ratings, search results, or rankings;
• Manipulating prices, supplies, or availability through coordinated activity not disclosed at point of sale;
• Concealing the seller of record, country of origin, or other material information.

4.2 Fraud and financial abuse

• Card-not-present fraud, account takeover, triangulation fraud, "friendly fraud" chargebacks, refund abuse, return-fraud schemes;
• "Bust-out" merchant schemes, structuring, money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion;
• Use of stolen, synthetic, or unauthorized payment instruments;
• Tax fraud, including failure to charge or remit applicable taxes;
• Promoting or operating pyramid, multi-level marketing, Ponzi, "get-rich-quick," or similar schemes that mislead participants.

4.3 Account abuse

• Creating an Account using false, stolen, or borrowed identity information;
• Operating multiple Accounts to evade detection, suspension, fees, or rate limits;
• Selling, renting, leasing, transferring, or buying Accounts;
• Sharing credentials beyond your authorized team;
• Bypassing or attempting to bypass authentication, MFA, or other access controls.

4.4 Technical abuse

• Probing, scanning, fuzzing, denial-of-service, or other attacks against the Service or any Marketplace, except through our published responsible-disclosure program;
• Scraping, crawling, or harvesting content or data, except via documented APIs, in compliance with their published rate limits, robots.txt, and authentication requirements;
• Using bots, scripts, or automation to interact with the Service in ways not authorized by Turtles;
• Reverse engineering, decompiling, or otherwise attempting to derive source code or non-public technical details of the Service;
• Using the Service or any output of the Service to train, fine-tune, or evaluate any artificial-intelligence or machine-learning model except as expressly authorized in writing by Turtles.

4.5 Spam and unsolicited communications

• Spamming, junk mail, chain letters, pyramid schemes, or unsolicited bulk communications;
• Purchasing, selling, or trading email addresses, phone numbers, or other contact information except as expressly authorized;
• Making contact through the Service for purposes unrelated to the actual transaction or relationship.

4.6 Off-platform circumvention

• Encouraging or coercing transactions, communications, or payments to occur off the Service to evade fees, rules, monitoring, or refund protections.

4.7 Harm to others

• Threatening, harassing, defaming, intimidating, doxxing, or exposing private information of any User, employee, or third party;
• Misrepresenting affiliation with Turtles, an Operator, a Seller, or a third party;
• Interfering with another User's enjoyment of the Service.

4.8 Government and law enforcement

• Misrepresenting status as a government, law enforcement, or regulatory authority;
• Submitting forged, manipulated, or unverified court orders, subpoenas, or warrants.

5. Authenticity, intellectual property, and brand integrity

Sellers must own or have authorization to sell every item they list. Listings must accurately describe the item's brand, model, condition (new, refurbished, used), authenticity, and origin. Sellers must promptly cooperate with brand-protection requests from Turtles or rights holders, including takedowns, recalls, and counterfeit investigations. Operators must enforce these obligations on their Marketplaces and take prompt action on notices.

6. Reviews, ratings, and social proof

User-submitted reviews and ratings must reflect a genuine, unincentivized, first-hand experience by the reviewer. The following are prohibited:

• Reviews bought, sold, traded, or coerced;
• Reviews that fail to disclose a material connection between the reviewer and the seller (per the FTC Endorsement Guides and analogous law);
• Reviews submitted by competitors, the seller, the seller's affiliates, employees, or family members;
• Threats, retaliation, or attempts to suppress lawful negative reviews;
• Misuse of "Verified Purchase," "Sponsored," "Editor's Pick," or similar markers.

7. Privacy, data protection, and personal information

Don't collect, store, or process personal information of other Users beyond what is reasonably necessary to complete a transaction or provide a service. If you receive personal information through the Service, treat it consistently with our Privacy Policy, our Data Processing Agreement, and Applicable Law. Don't post other Users' personal information without consent. Don't use the Service to facilitate surveillance, stalking, or unauthorized monitoring.

8. Operator-specific responsibilities

Operators are accountable for the quality, safety, and lawfulness of their Marketplaces. Each Operator must:

• Adopt and publish marketplace-level shopper terms, refund policy, privacy notice, and any required regulatory disclosures;
• Maintain trust-and-safety, fraud, and customer-service operations appropriate to the Marketplace's risk profile;
• Promptly investigate, remove, or suspend Listings, Sellers, and Shoppers that violate these Guidelines or the Operator's policies;
• Cooperate with Turtles trust-and-safety, security, and legal teams, including by providing reasonable documentation, evidence, or attestations;
• Honor Turtles' product-safety, recall, and brand-protection workflows;
• Comply with Applicable Law in every jurisdiction the Marketplace serves, including tax collection and remittance, consumer protection, and accessibility.

9. Seller-specific responsibilities

Each Seller must:

• Maintain accurate, current, and complete Listings (price, availability, condition, descriptions, images, regulatory disclosures);
• Ship orders promptly and as described, in compliance with all Applicable Law (including export, sanctions, hazmat, and dangerous-goods rules);
• Communicate with Shoppers professionally and resolve disputes in good faith;
• Honor stated returns, refund, and warranty policies;
• Maintain insurance and licenses appropriate to the Seller's products or services;
• Cooperate with brand-protection, recall, and trust-and-safety actions.

10. Reporting violations

If you see content or activity that violates these Guidelines, please report it:

• Use in-product report flows where available;
• Email trust@turtles.com for general trust-and-safety concerns;
• Email legal@turtles.com for intellectual-property or legal complaints (see also our DMCA process in the Terms of Use); or
• Email security@turtles.com for security or vulnerability concerns.

We may, but are not required to, follow up with reporters. We do not share reporters' identities with reported parties without consent or as required by law.

11. Enforcement

We may take any action we consider appropriate, including:

• Removing, restricting, demoting, age-gating, labeling, or limiting the visibility of content or Listings;
• Issuing warnings;
• Restricting features, payouts, or rate limits;
• Suspending or terminating Accounts;
• Withholding, freezing, reversing, or clawing back funds, in accordance with the Terms of Use, MSA, SSA, or applicable payments terms;
• Banning individuals, businesses, devices, IP ranges, or domains;
• Cooperating with law enforcement and regulators, including providing evidence, account information, or other materials in response to lawful process; and
• Pursuing all remedies available at law or in equity, including damages, indemnification, injunctive relief, and recovery of attorneys' fees.

We may take any of the above with or without notice, depending on the severity of the violation, the risk to other Users or third parties, and Applicable Law. Nothing in this Section limits our other rights or remedies under the Agreement.

12. Appeals

If you believe action was taken in error, you may appeal by following the process disclosed in the relevant notice or by contacting trust@turtles.com within thirty (30) days. We will review the appeal in good faith. We may decline to act on appeals that are abusive, repetitive, or made in bad faith. Decisions on appeal are final.

13. Changes to these Guidelines

We may update these Guidelines from time to time. We will post any updated version with a new effective date and, where the changes are material, will provide additional notice (such as email or in-product banner). Your continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Guidelines.

14. Relationship to other policies and Applicable Law

These Guidelines complement, rather than replace, the Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, Security Policy, Accessibility Policy, Data Processing Agreement, MSA, SSA, and any other applicable agreement. In the event of conflict, the more specific or more restrictive provision controls. Nothing in these Guidelines limits any obligation imposed on you by Applicable Law.

15. Contact

Turtles.com Inc. — trust@turtles.com