AUP

We take reports of illegal robocalls and unwanted text messages seriously. To report an unwanted call or text, use our report a number form.

ThinQ Technologies, Inc. dba Commio (“Commio”) has formulated this Acceptable Use Policy (“AUP”) in order to encourage the responsible use of our networks, systems, services, web sites and products (collectively, “Commio Services”) by our Customers, Customers’ end-users and customers, and other users of Commio Services (collectively, “Users”), and to enable us to provide Users with secure, reliable and productive services. All Commio Customers are responsible for reviewing and complying with this AUP. Commio Customers who provide services to their own customers or other end users are responsible for compliance with the terms of this AUP by their customers and end users and must take steps to ensure such compliance. By using Commio Services, Users consent to be bound by the terms of this AUP. If you do not wish to be bound by these terms and conditions, you may not access or use Commio Services. Commio reserves the right to modify this AUP in its discretion at any time. Such modifications will be effective when posted to Commio’s website. Any use of Commio Services after such modification shall be deemed to constitute conclusive acceptance of such modification. Commio reserves the right to deny or terminate service to a Customer based upon the results of a security/abuse confirmation process used by Commio. Such confirmation process uses publicly available information to primarily examine Customer’s history in relation to its prior or current use of services similar to those being provided by Commio and Customer’s relationship with previous providers.

Commio will suspend service for violation of the AUP on the most limited basis as Commio determines is reasonably practical under the circumstances to address the underlying violation. Commio will attempt to notify Customer prior to suspending service for violation of the AUP (which may be via email or any other notification); provided, however, Commio may suspend service without notice if Commio becomes aware of a violation of any applicable law or regulation or activity, including but not limited to a violation of the AUP that exposes Commio to criminal or civil liability or that exposes Commio, its officers, employees, Customers or affiliates, or the property of the aforementioned to harm or investigation. Commio may take such further action as Commio determines to be appropriate under the circumstances to eliminate or preclude repeat violations, and Commio shall not be liable for any damages of any nature suffered by any Customer, User, or any third party resulting in whole or in part from Commio’s exercise of its rights under this AUP.

Material accessible through Commio Services may be subject to protection under privacy, publicity, or other personal rights and Intellectual Property rights, including but not limited to, copyrights and laws protecting patents, trademarks, trade secrets or other proprietary information. Users shall not use Commio Services in any manner that would infringe, dilute, misappropriate, or otherwise violate any such rights. If you use a domain name in connection with any of Commio Services, you must not use that domain name in violation of the trademark, service mark, or other rights of any third party.

Restrictions on Use

The actions described below are defined by Commio as “network abuse” and are strictly prohibited under this AUP. The examples named below are not exhaustive and are provided solely for guidance to Customers. If any Customer is unsure of whether a contemplated use or action is permitted, it is Customer’s responsibility to determine whether the use is permitted by contacting Commio via electronic mail. The following activities are expressly prohibited, and Commio expressly reserves the right, at its discretion, to pursue any remedies that it believes are warranted which may include, but are not limited to, the issuance of written or verbal warnings, filtering, blocking, suspending, or terminating accounts, billing Customer for administrative costs and/or reactivation charges or bringing legal action to enjoin violations and/or to collect damages, if any, caused by Customer violations. Such actions may be taken by Commio without notice to Customer. In general, Commio Customers may not use Commio’s network, machines, or services in any manner which:

• violates any applicable law, regulation, treaty, or tariff, including but not limited to data privacy laws and laws restricting or prohibiting unlawful robocalls, telemarketing calls or messages, and use of autodialers;
• violates the acceptable use policies of any networks, machines, or services which are accessed through Commio’s network;
• infringes on the intellectual property rights of Commio or others;
• violates the privacy of others;
• involves deceptive online marketing practices including, without limitation, practices that violate the United States Federal Trade Commission’s guidelines for proper online marketing or telemarketing;
• involves the use of or transmission/routing of fraudulent traffic or other fraudulent activity, including without limitation call spoofing, traffic pumping fraud, SMS traffic pumping fraud and fraudulent bot traffic;
• involves accessing, posting, submitting or transmitting any text, graphics, images, software, music, audio, video, information or other material that: (i) infringes, misappropriates or violates a third party’s patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, moral rights or other intellectual property rights, or rights of publicity or privacy; (ii) violates, or encourages any conduct that would violate, any applicable law or regulation or would give rise to civil liability; (iii) is fraudulent, false, misleading or deceptive; (iv) is defamatory, obscene, vulgar or offensive; (v) constitutes child pornography, child sexual abuse material, sexually exploitative content or child erotica; (vi) promotes discrimination, bigotry, racism, hatred, harassment or harm against any individual or group; (vii) is violent or threatening or promotes violence or actions that are threatening to any other person; or (viii) promotes illegal or harmful activities or substances (including, but not limited to activities that promote or provide instructional information regarding the manufacture or purchase of illegal weapons or illegal substances); (ix) offering, disseminating or facilitating, make-money-fast or “get-rich-quick” schemes (including work-from-home programs, risk investment opportunities, ponzi and pyramid schemes).
• violates any specific instructions given by Commio for reasons of health, safety or quality of any other telecommunications services provided by Commio or by reason of the need for technical compatibility of equipment attached to the Commio Network;
• unauthorized use (or attempted unauthorized use) or sabotage of any computers, machines or networks;
• attempting to interfere with or denying service to any user or host (e.g. denial of service attacks and/or DNS spoofing attacks);
• falsifies, manipulates, spoofs or otherwise tampers with user identification information and/or call identification information;
• fails to authenticate call traffic in accordance with applicable laws and regulations;
• introduces malicious programs into the network or Server (e.g. viruses, time bombs, cancelbots, worms, Trojan horses, etc.);
• uses any calling method/program/script/command, or sending messages of any kind, designed to interfere with a third-party customer terminal session, via any means, locally or via the Internet;
• furnishes false or incorrect data or information to Commio, including without limitation information provided on signup, Know-Your-Customer forms, or otherwise in response to any request by Commio to ascertain or verify Customer’s identity and business practice sends any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, email, junk mail, spam, chain letters or other form of solicitation;
• uses or accesses Commio Services for the purpose of, or resulting in, the posting, publication, distribution or transmission of defamatory material or content;
• sends any emails or text communications for purposes of marketing or promoting non-federally legalized products or services or if such communications are barred by relevant industry associations;
• uses any meta tags or other hidden text or metadata utilizing a Commio trademark, logo URL or product name without Commio’s express written consent;
• uses Commio’s site, Commio Services or Commio content for the purpose of bringing an intellectual property infringement claim against Commio or for the purpose of creating a product or service competitive with Commio Services;
• impersonates or misrepresents your affiliation with any person or entity

TCPA Compliance

To the extent required by law and as applicable to our Customers, Customers shall comply with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227 (the “TCPA”), a federal statute, Telemarketing Sales Rule (“TSR”), regulations around the FCC’s national-Do-Not-Call registry, all rules and regulations governing the sending of telemarketing and/or robocalls, and all other related rules and regulations (“Applicable Law”). You will be solely responsible for complying with any messaging consent obligations under the Applicable Law in the course of accessing and using the Commio Services. You are responsible for obtaining explicit consent(s) from any and all third parties (including your customers) to send and receive SMS and/or make calls using Commio Services. Customer is liable for, and shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Commio from and against any and all damages, liabilities, judgments, fees, fines, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) incurred by the Commio arising from any claims, demands or legal actions made against it resulting from your breach of this Section. Customer shall not use Commio Services for purposes of distributing bulk unsolicited messages unless allowable by law. Additionally, you shall not use Commio Services to send unwanted messages to individuals who have asked to stop receiving text messages through any medium. To the extent required by Applicable Law, you must track and record all such requests specific to your business. You must also provide recipients of those messages you send via Commio Services with the ability to opt-out from receiving any future text messages, by texting STOP, or the equivalent using another standard opt-out keyword, such as, STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, QUIT, in a stand-alone message with no additional characters or punctuation. Individuals must have the ability to revoke consent at any time by replying with a standard opt-out keyword. When an individual opts out, Customer may deliver one final message to confirm that the opt-out has been processed, but any subsequent messages are not allowed. An individual must provide the appropriate level of consent under Applicable Law before Customer can send any additional messages.

Consent and Opt-in Requirements

As a Commio Customer, where you are sending calls or text messages that require consent of the recipient under governing law, including without limitation calls made using an automated telephone dialing system, calls using an artificial or prerecorded voice, or calls containing an unsolicited advertisement to a telephone facsimile machine, you must comply with all applicable consent and/or opt-in requirements imposed under law. Such obligations include without limitation the following: 

• You must only send messages to mobile users who have provided consent to receive messages from you. You must make clear to an individual they are agreeing to receive messages of the type you’re going to send.
• You must keep records of the consent. This record of consent must be retained according to Applicable Laws and as set forth by other local regulations and best practices even after an individual opts out of receiving messages.
• Every message you send must clearly identify who is sending the message, and how to opt-out.
• You must honor a message recipient’s preferences in terms of frequency and time of contact.
• If you are sending messages to users repeatedly over a long period of time, you should periodically check in with your recipients and confirm the recipient’s consent. The mobile number you are sending messages to may have changed owners, or the recipient may not remember giving consent to receive messages from you.
• You should have a process for checking disconnected phone numbers. Once a customer deactivates its phone number, or the phone number changes hands, you no longer have consent to send messages to that number.

Responsibility

As a Commio Customer, you may not use the Commio Services to evade Commio’s or a telecommunications provider’s unwanted messaging detection and prevention mechanisms. Examples of prohibited practices include:

• Content designed to evade detection. We do not allow content which has been specifically designed to evade detection by unwanted messaging detection and prevention mechanisms. This includes intentionally misspelled words, emojis or non-standard opt-out phrases which have been specifically created with the intent to evade these mechanisms.
• Snowshoeing. We do not permit snowshoeing, which is defined as spreading similar or identical messages across multiple long code phone numbers with the intent or effect of evading unwanted messaging detection, avoiding per number rate limits and volume limitations and prevention mechanisms.
• Shortened URL Links. Where a web address (Uniform Resource Locator (URL)) shortener is used, you should not use links that have been shortened using shared public URL shorteners like free Bitly links or TinyURL. United States carrier policies discourage the use of shared public URL shorteners. If you want to include shortened URLs in your messages, we recommend using custom short domains with small alphanumeric codes.

Commio’s Monitoring and Enforcement

We reserve the right, but do not assume the obligation, to monitor content on and sent through Commio Services and to investigate any violation of the Commio Terms of Service, including this AUP, or misuse of Commio Services. We may remove or disable access to any user, content, or resource that violates the Commio Terms of Service or this AUP or any other agreement we have with you for use of Commio Services. We may report any activity that we suspect violates any law or regulation to appropriate law enforcement officials, regulators, or other appropriate third parties. Our reporting may include disclosing appropriate Customer information. We may also cooperate with appropriate law enforcement agencies, regulators, or other appropriate third parties to help with the investigation and prosecution of illegal conduct by providing network and systems information related to alleged violations of this Policy.

Reporting of Violations

As a Commio Customer, if you become aware of any violation of this AUP, you will immediately notify us and provide us with assistance, as requested, to stop or remedy the violation. Violations of this AUP may be reported in writing to:

thinQ Technologies, Inc. dba Commio
5420 Wade Park Blvd.,
Suite 100
Raleigh, NC 27607

Call Attestation

1. Definitions. The definitions below apply to the referenced terms or phrases used in this Call Attestation Section of Commio’s AUP. Other definitions of terms used in this Call Attestation Section of Commio’s AUP are identified and provided elsewhere in this Section of the AUP.

1.1 “Caller ID” means information provided by a caller identification service regarding the telephone number of, or other information regarding the origination of, a call made using a voice service or a text message sent using a text messaging service. See 47 C.F.R. § 64.6300(b) (applying the Caller ID definition found in 47 C.F.R. § 64.1600(c)).

1.2 “Identity Header” means a Session Initiation Protocol (“SIP”) header containing a SHAKEN PASSporT as specified in the STIR/SHAKEN specifications.

1.3 “Identified Its End User Customer” means confirming the identity of the end user customers by collecting information such as, but not limited to, physical business location, contact person(s), state or country of incorporation, federal tax ID, the nature of the end user customer’s business and has instituted appropriate policies and procedures to Know Its Customers (KYC) and ensure they do not originate, route, carry, or process illegal robocall traffic.

1.4. “STIR” (a/k/a Secure Telephony Identity Revisited) and “SHAKEN” (a/k/a Secure Handling of Asserted information using toKENs) (collectively, “STIR/SHAKEN”) is an authentication framework of Caller ID that applies to Internet Protocol (“IP”) networks.

2. STIR/SHAKEN Attestation. STIR/SHAKEN is an industry-developed set of protocols and operational procedures that the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) requires be implemented which are designed to authenticate voice calls that use North American Numbering Plan (“NANP”) resources (“Call Traffic”) and combat illegal robocalling and spoofing. See 47 C.F.R. § 64.6300 et seq. Commio has implemented the STIR/SHAKEN Caller-ID authentication framework. In accordance with this framework, Commio offers three (3) attestation levels that are listed below. Commio will provide Customer the attestation level that Commio determines that Customer satisfies. By obtaining Commio Services, Customer agrees to comply with the requirements for attestation it receives and makes the applicable certifications as indicated below for that attestation level.

2.1. A-Level Attestation (Full). With A-Level Attestation (Full), Commio (i) is the originating network that directly handles Customer’s originating Call Traffic (i.e., is responsible for the origination of the call onto the network), (ii) has a direct authenticated relationship with Customer and can identify Customer, (iii) has established a verified association with the telephone number used for the call. Customer is only eligible for A-Level Attestation (Full) for Call Traffic associated with Commio-provisioned telephone numbers and Customer is the ultimate end user customer, or Customer certifies, by obtaining Commio Services, that before sending such Call Traffic to Commio, Customer has Identified Its End User Customers and that each of these end user customers has a verified association with and is authorized to use the Commio-provisioned telephone numbers they each use for such Call Traffic.

2.1.1 Commio may or will (if required by the FCC or other federal or state civil or criminal enforcement agencies) screen Customer’s Call Traffic using third-party telephone number validation and may reject Call Traffic back to Customer (e.g., via a 503 code or otherwise) if Commio does not receive a confirmation of the end-user’s right-to-use a telephone number.

2.2. B-Level Attestation (Partial). With B-Level Attestation (Partial), Commio (i) is the originating network that directly handles Customer’s originating Call Traffic (i.e., is responsible for the origination of the call onto the network), and (ii) has a direct authenticated relationship with and can identify Customer. Customer is only eligible for B-Level Attestation (Partial) for non-Commio-provisioned telephone numbers when Customer is the ultimate end user customer, or Customer certifies, by obtaining Commio Services with this attestation level, it Identified Its End User Customers before sending Call Traffic from such end user customers to Commio.

2.3 C-Level Attestation (Gateway). With C-Level Attestation (Gateway), Commio is the entry point of the Call Traffic into its network and has no relationship with the initiator of the Call Traffic.

3. Right to Audit. If requested by Commio, Customer shall provide within 24 hours documentation verifying and demonstrating that Customer has, as applicable, Identified Its End User Customers and that each of these end user customers has a verified association with the telephone numbers used for Customer’s Call Traffic that is being routed through Commio.

4. Combatting Illegal Traffic. By requesting and obtaining Commio Services, Customer certifies that it is taking affirmative, effective measures to prevent existing, new and renewing customers along with upstream providers from using Customer’s services, upon which the Commio network or Commio Services are used to provide Customer’s services, to originate illegal calls, including knowing its end user customers and upstream providers as well as exercising due diligence in ensuring that Commio Services are not used to originate, route, carry or process illegal traffic.

5. Robocall Mitigation Database Listing. If Customer is a Voice Service Provider, Gateway Provider, Non-Gateway Intermediate Provider, Foreign Voice Service Provider and/or Foreign Intermediate Provider (as these terms are defined and interpreted under the FCC ‘s orders and rules that implement 47 C.F.R. § 6300 et seq.) that originates, routes, processes or carries voice communications, Customer certifies, by requesting and obtaining Commio Services, that Customer has affirmatively and appropriately registered in the FCC’s Robocall Mitigation Database (“RMD”) (47 C.F.R. § 64.6305) for the types of traffic it originates, routes, processes, or carries and has not been delisted from the RMD.

6. Call Monitoring. Customer understands that Commio may screen Customer’s Call Traffic usings its own or third-party reputation analytics of Caller ID, and that Commio may reject Call Traffic back to Customer or block Customer’s Call Traffic based on call analytics.

7. Prompt Response and Cooperation with Traceback Requests. Customer agrees to investigate and respond fully and with 24 hours (or sooner if requested) to all traceback requests from and/or efforts of Commio, any governmental, regulatory, or law enforcement agency, including without limitation the FCC, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice, criminal or civil law enforcement, and/or the Industry Traceback Group (“ITG)”, and cooperate with such entities in investigating and promptly stopping any illegal robocalls or robotexts.

8. Cooperation to Implement Evolving Regulatory and Industry Requirements. Customer understands that the industry practices, policies, or requirements that are designed to combat illegal robocalling, spoofing and texting, or otherwise implement STIR/SHAKEN authentication framework are rapidly evolving. Customer agrees to (a) respond fully and in a timely manner to any requests by Commio to implement practices, policies or requirements adopted, imposed and/or proposed by Commio, any governmental, regulatory, or law enforcement agency, including without limitation the FCC, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice, or criminal or civil law enforcement, and/or the ITG or industry in general that are designed to combat illegal robocalling, spoofing, or texting, or otherwise implement STIR/SHAKEN authentication framework, and (b) cooperate with Commio in implementing such practices, policies, or requirements.

9. STIR/SHAKEN Identity Headers.

9.1. Customer’s Use of Certain Identity Headers. In connection with any Call Traffic Commio terminates to Customer, Customer may receive and Commio is willing to provide to Customer certain Identity Headers for the limited purpose of protecting the rights or property of Customer, or to protect users of voice services and other carriers from fraudulent, abusive, or unlawful use of, or subscription to, such services (collectively, the “Limited Purpose”) pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 222(d)(2). The Identity Headers will be provided in the call signaling. The terms of this AUP will also apply to any affiliate of Commio that terminates Call Traffic to Customer.

9.2. Obligations of Customer Upon Receiving Identity Headers. When Customer receives an Identity Header from Commio, Customer shall (a) keep the Identity Header in strict confidence and (b) not disclose the Identity Header to any third party without Commio’s prior written consent, provided that Customer may share the Identity Header with fraud analytics providers (e.g., Neustar, Inc.) but only (i) after sending written notice to Commio and (ii) if such third party is subject to the terms of a written agreement containing non-use and non-disclosure provisions at least and restrictive as the terms of this AUP. Customer shall not use, or permit others to use, the Identity Header for any purpose other than in connection with the Limited Purpose. Customer will delete the Identity Headers from its systems after such Identity Headers are no longer needed in connection with the Limited Purpose.

9.3. Compelled Disclosure. Customer may disclose Identity Headers to the extent required pursuant to applicable federal, state or local law, regulation, court order, or other legal process, provided that Customer has given Commio prior written notice of such required disclosure and, to the extent reasonably practicable, has given Commio an opportunity to contest such required disclosure at Commio’s expense. Moreover, if Customer must make such disclosure, it will attempt to maintain the confidentiality of the Identity Headers (e.g., pursuant to a protective order).

9.4. Notification. Customer shall notify Commio immediately if Customer learns of any unauthorized disclosure, possession, use or knowledge of any Identity Header(s) or materials containing the same, and will cooperate with Commio in any proceeding against any third parties necessary to protect Commio’s rights with respect to such Identity Headers.

9.5 Survival. Notwithstanding any termination or expiration of this AUP and Customer’s use of Commio Services, Customer’s confidentiality and use obligations under this AUP shall survive without limitation, with respect to any Identity Headers received prior to such termination or expiration. Customer shall promptly return or certify that it has destroyed all material embodying the Identity Headers (in any form and including, by way of example and not limitation, all summaries or electronic versions thereof) upon the earlier of (a) the completion or termination of the dealings between Customer and Commio, or (b) Commio’s written request.

9.6. Injunctive Relief. Customer and Commio acknowledge that disclosure or use of Identity Headers in violation of this AUP could cause irreparable harm to Commio for which monetary damages may be difficult to ascertain or are an inadequate remedy. Therefore, Commio shall have the right, in addition to its other rights and remedies, to seek and obtain injunctive relief for any violation of this AUP. Customer shall pay Commio its attorneys’ fees in the event it prevails in any action to enforce this AUP against Customer.

9.7. Disclaimers. The Identity Headers will be provided in the call signaling. Commio will merely pass through to Customer the unaltered Identity Headers that Commio receives from the providing party. Commio is not responsible in any way for the content included in the Identity Headers.

10. Miscellaneous.

10.1. In the event that the terms of this AUP conflict or are inconsistent with those in a Commio Master Services Agreement with Customer, the terms of this AUP shall govern, unless the Commio and Customer expressly agree otherwise in writing.

10.2. Paragraph headings herein are included for convenience only and do not affect the substantive provisions in this AUP.

10.6. Each Party covenants and warrants that he or it has the requisite power and authority to deliver, and perform under this AUP in his or its identified capacity.

Changes to this AUP

This AUP is subject to change with notice by publication on this web site; Customers are responsible for monitoring this web site for changes. This AUP was last updated on January 31, 2024. While Commio uses reasonable efforts to provide accurate and up-to-date information on this Web site, Commio makes no warranty or representation as to its accuracy. Moreover, information that may have been accurate at the time of posting may have changed and therefore may no longer be accurate or in effect. Commio undertakes no duty to update such information.