Terms of Service

User accounts

When you sign or create a petition via our platform, a Change.org account is created for you. All your campaign activities are then tied to this account.

When setting up your account, you must provide accurate and complete information, including a valid email address. You have complete responsibility for your account and everything that happens on your account, including for any harm or damage (to us or anyone else) caused by someone using your account with or without your permission. This means you need to be careful with your password and any emails you receive from us. You may not transfer your account to someone else or use someone else’s account without their permission. Inform us immediately upon learning that someone else may be using your account without your permission, by contacting us through our Help Center.

Our platform is for people who are at least 16 years of age except in the United States where you may use our platform if you are at least 13 years of age or older. If you are younger than 16 (or younger than 13 if you reside in the United States) you may not set up an account by yourself, but we encourage you to invite a parent or guardian to create a campaign about areas of interest to you. We do not knowingly collect any personal information from children under the age of 16 (or the age of 13 in the United States) without parental consent, unless permitted by applicable law. If we learn that a child under the age of 16 (or under the age of 13 in the United States) has provided us with personal information, we will delete it in accordance with applicable law.

User content rules

Follow our Community Guidelines: When posting content or using our platform, you must follow the Community Guidelines.

Abide by the law and respect rights of others: You cannot post any campaign or content that violates applicable local or national laws of your country, or international laws or regulations. You agree that any campaign or content you post will comply with applicable local and national laws, including data protection laws. Except as provided otherwise by applicable laws, you are solely responsible for any campaign, content, and actions you post or take via the platforms and their consequences. If you name a decision maker (a person or group with the power and authority to affect the issue of the petition) for your campaign, you entrust us to perform any and all data processing and protection activities for decision makers, as outlined in our Privacy Policy.

Enforcement by Change.org: If we are put on notice that your campaign or content violates the law or the rights of others (for example, if it is established that it is defamatory; violates privacy, intellectual property or publicity rights of others; or is funding an illegal activity), or if we discover that your campaign or content violates our Community Guidelines, we may remove it from our platforms, or we may make edits to bring your content into compliance. In the vast majority of cases, we will do our best to notify and work with you to fix the issue before we take any of these actions (but we are not obligated to do so).

Change.org has discretion in enforcing these Terms, and as part of such discretion, may treat different types of content (e.g. petitions, comments, etc.) under different standards. We will take into account your interest as a user and our commitments to our organizational mission when we enforce these Terms. We may terminate or suspend your account or your permission to use our platform and services at any time, with or without notice, for: any material or repeated violation of these Terms, your failure to pay any fees when due, upon the request of law enforcement or government agencies, or your engagement in fraudulent or illegal activities. Upon any such termination, we may delete your account, passwords, and content, and we may prevent you from further access to the platforms and use of our services. We may also terminate your account for unexpected technical issues or problems. Your content may still be available on the platforms even if your account is terminated or suspended. You agree that we will have no liability to you or any third party for termination of your account, removal of your content, or blocking of your access to our platforms and services.

Posting user content

The content you submit on the platforms is not confidential: Any content you submit or post on the platforms is likely to be publicly available, including all petitions you create, your comments to any petitions you signed (on our websites, in apps and on social media pages). If you are concerned about other Change.org community members or people you don’t know seeing a particular message or other content of yours, please do not post it. If you do not wish to have your name publicly displayed in connection with a particular petition, you may select the option not to display your signature publicly. Please check out our Privacy Policy for more details on information we collect and share when you use the platforms.

The content you post (including photos) remains yours, and you also allow us to reuse and share it: By submitting and posting content, you do not lose any ownership rights you may have over your content. However, you authorize us to share this content with anyone, distribute it on any platform and in any media, and to make modifications or edits to it as we see fit (e.g. for clarity or optimization purposes or to translate the content into different languages). For example, we may shorten a petition title for it to appear on our homepage, test alternative images to help your petition be seen by more people, reformat a petition for a video highlighting petition victories, or share the content with interested media. You also authorize us to allow others to do the same with your content. In legal language, by submitting or posting content on or through the platforms, you grant us a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display, and distribute your content in any and all media or distribution methods (existing now or later developed). This includes making your content available to other companies, organizations, or individuals who partner with Change.org for the syndication, broadcast, distribution, or publication of content on other media. You represent and warrant that you have all the rights, power, and authority necessary to authorize us to use any content that you submit. You also agree to all such uses of your content with no compensation paid to you.

Sharing campaigns and other actions: Except in very limited circumstances where we’ll expressly ask you not to, we encourage you to link to, post to social media and third-party services, such as Facebook or Twitter, share via email, or otherwise copy and share individual petitions and campaigns of interest to you, but only for informational, non-commercial purposes. If you share another user’s petitions, questions, or other content, you may not make any modifications, and you may not remove any attributions. When you post content to any third-party service through the features and functionalities of our platforms (such as our apps or API), you will be subject to the terms of that third-party service, and you understand that these Terms are not binding upon such third parties. If you want to remove any petition or content from a third-party service, you should contact that third-party service and request removal directly from them.

No user content storage: We are not a content-archiving service. We do not promise to store or make available on our platforms any content that you or other users may post for any length of time. You are solely responsible for keeping backups of everything you post on the platforms.

Open platform

We are not responsible for the content or actions of our users: Campaigns or content posted by users come from people, organizations, and other various sources. We make no promises about the reliability of any source or the accuracy, usefulness, safety, or intellectual property rights of any user campaign or content, nor do we endorse any campaigns or petitions or support any views, opinions, recommendations, or advice that may be posted by users. You acknowledge that certain users may have commercial interests in their campaigns. You therefore use the Change.org services and rely on any content you find at your own risk.

If you find any campaign or other user content that violates our Community Guidelines, please use the “Report a policy violation” function on each petition page or file a request through our Help Center.

Links out: When you use our platforms, you will find links to other websites that we don’t own or control. We are not responsible for the content or any other aspect of these third-party sites, including their collection of information about you. You should also read their terms and conditions and privacy policies.

Our rights

All right, title, and interest in and to the Change.org platform and services including our website, our existing or future applications, our APIs, databases, and the content our employees or partners submit or provide through our services (but excluding content provided by users) are and will remain the exclusive property of Change.org and its licensors. Our platform and services are protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws of both the United States and foreign countries. Nothing gives you a right to use the Change.org name or any of the Change.org trademarks, logos, domain names, and other distinctive brand features. Any feedback, comments, or suggestions you may provide regarding Change.org or the services is entirely voluntary and we will be free to use such feedback, comments, or suggestions as we see fit and without any obligation to you.

You may not do any of the following while accessing or using the platforms and services:

1. access, tamper with, or use non-public areas of the platform, Change.org’s computer systems, or the technical delivery systems of Change.org’s service providers.
2. disable, interfere with, or try to circumvent any of the features of the platforms related to security or probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of any of our systems.
3. copy, modify, create a derivative work of, reverse engineer, reverse assemble, or otherwise attempt to discover any source code of the Change.org platforms or services.
4. access or search or attempt to access or search our platforms by any means (automated or otherwise) other than through our currently and publicly available search functionalities that are provided via our website, mobile apps, or API (and only pursuant to those API terms and conditions). Crawling the Change.org site is permissible if done in accordance with the provisions of the robots.txt file; however, scraping the services, platforms, and databases is expressly prohibited unless authorized in a written agreement between you and Change.org.
5. in any way use the Change.org services to send altered, deceptive, or false source-identifying information (such as sending email communications falsely appearing as Change.org); or interfere with, or disrupt, (or attempt to do so), the access of any user, host, or network, including, without limitation, sending a virus, overloading, flooding, spamming, mail-bombing the platforms or services, or in any other manner interfering with or creating an undue burden on the services.

Purchases and donations

We may provide you the ability to purchase promotional items related to petitions and campaigns, contribute monthly to help cover the costs of the Change.org platform, or purchase other products or services.

PROMOTED PETITIONS

The ability to purchase promotional items and services includes, but is not limited to, our Promoted Petitions service. When you pay to promote a petition using our Promoted Petition tool, you are purchasing advertisements for that petition, which will allow the petition to be discovered by potential supporters who may go on to sign. In exchange for your purchase, Change.org will advertise your chosen petition to other potential supporters within our website, and/or via email, and/or other distribution channels. Change.org reserves the right as to which of those locations the purchased advertising will be delivered.

We use a standard digital advertising model called CPM which stands for “cost per thousand impressions.” The dollar amount you chip in determines the number of times we will display the petition advertisement to other potential supporters on your behalf. Each time the petition ad is displayed to a potential supporter, that “impression” or “view” counts toward the fulfillment of our promotional obligations to you. The CPM rate, or the cost per 1,000 ad impressions, varies based on country, currency, and other factors.

Change.org reserves the right to track and calculate the number of delivered ad impressions using multiple data sources. Because we are unable to directly track delivered impressions via some platforms (e.g., Apple iOS devices), the number of impressions of a petition ad that we are agreeing to provide in exchange for your contribution is based, in part, on a projection from recent past experience. In other words, it is an estimate—although it is an estimate that we believe to be accurate based on the best information available to us. We reasonably believe that the specified number of impressions (or a close approximation) will be provided, but because of imperfect information, we cannot guarantee any precise number.

Promoted Petition purchases directly benefit the petition (and indirectly benefit the underlying cause) by giving the petition greater public exposure, increasing the likelihood that the petition will gather more signatures and momentum. If the actual cost to Change.org of providing the promised ad impressions is less than the amount that you pay to purchase those impressions, Change.org reserves the right as to how to utilize the balance.

By default, the Promoted Petition tool is activated on most petitions. If the Promoted Petition tool is disabled, the petition will not be eligible to be recommended by Change.org to other Change.org users via our email, on our website, or any other channels we may use for advertising distribution. As the petition starter, you can request the Promoted Petition feature to be disabled on your petition. To do so, you can contact our support team at our Help Center.

In circumstances where the petition is marked as a victory before the promotion has been fulfilled, we will continue to advertise the content, without the ability to collect signatures, for the remaining number of purchased impressions

CHANGE.ORG RECURRING CONTRIBUTIONS

We may provide you with the ability to support Change.org by making a recurring contribution. If you choose to do so, a monthly contribution to Change.org will be deducted from your preferred payment method. Your monthly contributions help cover the costs of the Change.org platform, including, but not limited to, technology fees, engineering, operations, and expert campaign support services. Recurring contributions help, in part, to keep the Change.org platform free for everyone, open, and independent. Change.org reserves the right to decide how recurring contributions are allocated within the company.

You can make changes to your recurring contribution settings at any time. You can change the amount of your scheduled monthly contributions or cancel future contributions by logging in and visiting your Account Settings.

PAYMENT PROCESSING

We work with Stripe, Braintree, dLocal, and other payment processing companies to process all financial transactions (see below for terms and privacy policies). If you make a payment for services, Change.org reserves the right to keep a record of your transaction amount only; none of your personal payment information is stored or saved within our systems. Instead, we rely on the payment processing platforms to store, on our behalf, certain information about you. For more information about which information we store, see our Privacy Policy.

• Change.org uses Stripe for payment processing services. By using Stripe payment processing services, you agree to be legally bound by Stripe’s Services Agreement and Privacy Policy.
• Change.org uses Braintree, a division of PayPal, Inc. (Braintree), for payment processing services. By using the Braintree payment processing services, you agree to be legally bound by Braintree’s Payment Services Agreement and the applicable Bank Agreement.
• Change.org uses dLocal for payment processing services. By using dLocal payment processing services, you agree to be legally bound by dLocal’s Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

REFUNDS & REMOVAL

If you are unsatisfied with your Promoted Petition purchase for any reason, you may request a refund. To be eligible, refund requests must be received by the support team within 90 days of purchase. To request a refund, please contact our support team through our Help Center.

Change.org reserves the right to disable the Promoted Petitions service and/or remove any petition for violations of our Community Guidelines, our Terms of Service, and/or other discretionary reasons as we deem appropriate, regardless of the petition’s Promoted Petition history. We reserve the right to not issue refunds in cases of fraud, abuse, or violations of our Terms of Service.

TAXES & FEES

You agree that, for all purchase, donation, or contribution transactions, (a) you will not use an invalid or unauthorized payment method; (b) you will be charged using the payment method you designate. You understand and acknowledge that payments made to Change.org (PBC) are not tax-deductible as charitable donations. Charitable donations to qualified tax-exempt organizations, such as the Change.org Foundation, made through our platforms may be tax-deductible. You agree to review, be legally bound by, and comply with any relevant terms and conditions of the receiving organization when making a donation. If you make a purchase, donation, or contribution through our platform, you agree to pay the applicable fee or amount in accordance with any pricing and payment terms presented to you for that purchase, donation, or contribution. All amounts do not include taxes, and you are responsible for paying any applicable taxes. You are also responsible for paying applicable standard credit card processing fees.

Unlike many companies, Change.org does not exist to make a profit — we exist to make an impact. As of September 2021, Change.org (PBC) is now a wholly owned corporate subsidiary of the Change.org Foundation (a nonprofit entity). The transition to a non-profit ownership and governance structure secures the long-term stewardship of Change.org (PBC) as a digital public utility committed to the public interest. In the spirit of transparency, as part of this transition, we’ve committed to fulfilling legacy obligations that include making scheduled payments to employees and former stockholders.

Copyright infringement

If you believe that one of our users has violated your copyright, you should notify our copyright agent in writing. In order for us to take action, you must do the following in your notice:

1. identify your copyrighted work that you believe is being infringed
2. identify the item on our service that you think is infringing your work and include sufficient information about where the material is located (for example, a URL or link to a relevant page), so that we can easily find it
3. provide us with a way to contact you, such as your address, telephone number, or e-mail
4. provide a statement that you believe in good faith that the item you have identified as infringing is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law to be used on the platform
5. provide a statement that the information you provide in your notice is accurate, and that (under penalty of perjury), you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner whose work is being infringed.

Here is the contact information for our copyright agent:

Copyright Enforcement
Change.org, PBC
548 Market Street #29993
San Francisco, CA 94104-5401
USA

Phone: (415) 236-3829
Email: copyright@change.org

More legal stuff to protect us

No waiver, assignment: If we waive any of our rights in any particular instance, it does not mean that we are waiving our rights generally or in the future. If we do not enforce all our rights all of the time under these Terms, it does not mean that we are waiving our rights, and we may decide to enforce them at a later date. These Terms, and any rights and licenses granted under these Terms, may not be transferred or assigned by you, but may be assigned by us to another company or person without restriction. We won’t be liable to you for any delay or failure to perform any obligation we have under these Terms if the delay or failure is due to events which are beyond our reasonable control, including but not limited to any strike, blockade, war, act of terrorism, riot, natural disaster, failure or diminishment of power or of telecommunications or data networks or services, or refusal of approval or a license by a government agency.

As is service: Use of the Change.org and Change Politics platforms is at your own risk. The platforms (including the content you find on it) are provided on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis. Change.org and its affiliates, suppliers, partners, and agents expressly disclaim all warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

Furthermore, Change.org and its affiliates, suppliers, partners, and agents make no warranty that (i) its platforms or any products or services provided through the platforms will meet your requirements; (ii) the platforms will be uninterrupted, timely, secure or error-free or that Change.org will fix any errors; (iii) you will obtain any specific results from use of the platforms; or (iv) any campaign or content on the platforms are accurate, complete, reliable, current or error-free. Any content obtained through use of the platforms is obtained at your own discretion and risk and Change.org shall not be responsible for any damage caused to your computer or data or for any bugs, viruses, Trojan horses or other destructive code resulting from use of the platforms or any content obtained from the platforms. When you contribute to a fundraising campaign through our platform, you do so at your own risk and we do not guarantee the quality, safety, morality or legality of any fundraising campaign. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of implied warranties, so the above exclusion may not apply to you. You may also have other legal rights, which vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

No guarantee of service: We may decide to cease making available the Change.org platforms, apps or services or any portion of the services at any time and for any reason. Under no circumstances will Change.org or its affiliates, suppliers, partners, or agents be held liable for any damages due to such interruptions or lack of availability.

Limitation of liability: To the fullest extent permitted under law, Change.org and its affiliates, suppliers, partners and agents have no obligation or liability (whether arising in contract, warranty, tort (including negligence), product liability, or otherwise) for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or consequential damages or liabilities (including, but not limited to, any loss of data or content, revenue or profit, or personal injury or death) arising from or related to your use of the platforms, service, or any content provided by or through the platforms or service, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages in advance. This limitation applies to damages arising from (i) your use or inability to use the platforms and access the services; (ii) cost of procurement of substitute products or services; (iii) unauthorized access to or alteration or distribution of content you submit through the platforms; (iv) third-party content made available to you through the platforms; (v) any loss or damage as a result of contributions to a fundraising campaign on Change.org or (vi) any other matter relating to any aspect of the platforms and service, including the website, the API, any present or future apps, email communications, and Change.org content on third-party sites. Some countries and states do not allow the limitation or exclusion of incidental, consequential, or other types of damages, so some of the above limitations may not apply to you.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, Change.org’s liability and the liability of each of its affiliates, suppliers, partners, and agents to you or any third parties under any circumstance is limited to the greater of USD one hundred ($100) or the amount you have paid us in the past twelve (12) months.

Indemnity: You agree to indemnify, defend (if we so request), and hold harmless Change.org and its affiliates, suppliers, partners, and agents from and against any claims, demands, losses, damages, or expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising from the content you post or submit, your use of and connection to the Change.org website, applications, API, and any other aspect of the platforms or services, your violation of these Terms or your violation of any rights of any third party. Your indemnification obligation will survive the termination of these Terms and your use of the platforms and services.

Binding Agreement: By using the platforms you agree to abide by these Terms and our Community Guidelines. If you are accepting these Terms and policies and using our services on behalf of a company, organization, government, or other legal entity, you represent and warrant that you are authorized to do so.

Severability: If any provision of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable under any applicable law, such invalidity or unenforceability will not affect any other provision of this Agreement that can be given effect without the invalid or unenforceable provision, and this Agreement will be construed as if said invalid or unenforceable provision had not been contained herein.

For users residing in India and payments processed in India: This document is an electronic record in terms of Information Technology Act, 2000 and published in accordance with the rules and regulations thereunder. We shall comply with all mandatory provisions of the law in India – including the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Rules framed thereunder as applicable and as amended from time to time – more particularly, the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021; Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguard for Monitoring and Collecting Traffic Data or Information) Rules, 2009; and the Information Technology (Reasonable security practices and procedures and sensitive personal data or information) Rules, 2011.

You agree that you shall at all times comply with all applicable provisions of the law in India including the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Rules framed thereunder, as amended from time to time.

You further agree and acknowledge that our platform may be commissioned, located, controlled and/or operated from outside the territory of India and by using the platform, you hereby consent to the collection, use, storage, transfer, re-rendering and disclosure of your personal information and other information subject to these Terms, our Privacy Policy and/or other policies and in accordance with the applicable laws of India.

For users residing in India, please note, in compliance with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the rules made thereunder, as well as the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and the rules made thereunder, the grievance redressal mechanism, including the contact details of the Grievance Officer and Nodal Officer are given herein: GrievanceOfficer.India@change.org.

This electronic record is generated by a computer system and does not require any physical or digital signatures.

Dispute resolution

Overview:
• Countless petitions on Change.org have achieved their goals through direct conversations with leaders in government, company CEOs, and other decision makers. We believe this type of informal resolution process is often the most efficient and effective for all involved. That’s why we ask you to come to us directly if you have an issue, and hopefully we can resolve it together. But if we can’t, then these Terms will govern how disputes between us shall be resolved.
• These Dispute Resolution Terms provide for a two-part process: (i) an informal negotiation directly with Change.org, and if necessary, (ii) a legally binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”). Instead of arbitration, you and/or Change.org also have the right to bring any claims in small claims court, if those claims qualify to be heard there.
• Arbitration is less formal than a lawsuit in court and uses a neutral arbitrator instead of a judge or jury, but arbitrators can award the same damages and remedies that a court can award. Additionally, arbitration is often a faster and a less expensive method of dispute resolution.
• The following Dispute Resolution Terms apply to any and all claims, disputes, or controversies, including contractual and non-contractual claims (except as set out in the exceptions below), arising out of or relating to: (i) your use of the Change.org platform; (ii) your purchase or use of any services or products offered by Change.org; (iii) Change.org’s Terms of Service or Privacy Policy; and (iv) any claimed infringement of rights of privacy or rights of publicity.

If you have an issue, come to us directly so we can try to resolve it together. Here’s how the informal dispute resolution process works:

• At least sixty (60) days prior to initiating an arbitration, you and Change.org each agree to notify the other party of the dispute in writing and attempt in good faith to negotiate an informal resolution. You must send your Notice of Dispute to Change.org by mailing it via First Class Mail to Change.org, PBC, ℅ Legal Department, 548 Market Street, Private Mailbox #29993, San Francisco, CA 94104-5401 USA or emailing it to Dispute@change.org.
• If we have an issue to bring to your attention, Change.org will send its Notice of Dispute to the email address associated with your Change.org account.
• A Notice of Dispute must include: your first and last name and preferred contact information, the email address you use to login to Change.org, a brief description of the dispute, the date(s) of the experience(s) related to the dispute, and the relief you are seeking.

If we can’t reach an agreement on our own, you and Change.org agree to bring the issue to arbitration. Here is what the mandatory arbitration process looks like:

• If we are unable to informally resolve the dispute within the sixty (60) day period after the Notice of Dispute is sent, only then may you or Change.org commence arbitration by filing a Demand for Arbitration (available at www.adr.org) with the AAA and providing a copy to the other party. You must provide a copy of these Dispute Resolution Terms to the AAA together with your Demand.
• Claims shall be heard by a single arbitrator, unless both you and Change.org expressly agree otherwise. The arbitrator will be selected by you and Change.org from the AAA’s roster of qualified arbitrators. If you and Change.org fail to agree on the arbitrator appointment, the AAA Rules will govern the choice of the arbitrator.
• When no claims in the arbitration exceed $25,000, the dispute shall be resolved solely on the basis of documents submitted to the arbitrator, unless either party requests a hearing, or the arbitrator decides that a hearing is necessary.
• If a hearing is held, that hearing may be virtual (e.g., via video conference), instead of a live, in-person hearing, if the parties so agree or if the arbitrator determines that a virtual hearing is appropriate under the circumstances.
• If a live, in-person hearing is held, and the parties do not agree on the location of the hearing, the location will be selected in accordance with the AAA Rules.
• The arbitrator will be allowed to issue a summary adjudication based on the merits of the claim and relevant information submitted by you or Change.org. If the arbitrator chooses to issue a summary adjudication without a hearing, then the arbitrator’s judgment, including any potential relief granted, will be final and binding.
• If it is preferred, you or Change.org can bring claims in a small claims court in the United States, instead of arbitration (assuming the claim qualifies to be brought in a small claims court). If you don’t bring your claims in small claims court, or your claim doesn’t qualify to be brought in small claims court (or if you or Change.org appeal a small claims court judgment to a court of general jurisdiction), then the claims must be resolved by binding, individual arbitration.
• You and Change.org both expressly waive a trial by jury.

These Dispute Resolution Terms include a Class Action Waiver. That means you waive the right to participate in a class action lawsuit. These are the terms of our Class Action Waiver:

• Any arbitration will take place on an individual basis. You understand that by agreeing to these Terms, you and Change.org are each waiving the right to participate in a class action lawsuit or other group/collective proceeding. Class arbitration shall only be available if expressly agreed upon by both you and Change.org and approved by the AAA.
• Any claim that all or part of this Class Action Waiver is unenforceable, unconscionable, void, or voidable may be determined only by a court of competent jurisdiction and not by an arbitrator.

There are exceptions to the standard arbitration process that we want to make sure you’re aware of:

• Any claims related to sexual or physical assault or bodily harm; claims alleging discrimination based on a legally protected status (such as race or sex); claims seeking exclusively injunctive relief; claims asserting defamation; and/or claims asserting violations of intellectual property rights (i.e., patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets) are not reserved for arbitration. If preferred, either you or Change.org may pursue such claims in a court of competent jurisdiction. In such an event, however, you agree that you will pursue such claims on an individual basis only, and you irrevocably waive the right to file or participate in any class action or other collective proceeding.
• With respect to any disputes or claims not subject to arbitration, and not brought in small claims court, you and Change.org agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located within the State of New York. You further agree that any such disputes or claims will be governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

To file for arbitration, you’ll need to consider location and governing law. Here is what you should know about location and governing law:

• The arbitration will be administered by the AAA in accordance with the AAA’s Consumer Arbitration Rules (the “AAA Rules”) then in effect, except as modified by these Dispute Resolution Terms. The AAA Rules are available at www.adr.org.
• In adjudicating the merits of any claim or dispute, the arbitrator shall apply any applicable federal law, and the substantive law of the State of New York (without regard to the conflicts-of-law principles thereof).
• These Terms are governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, and the laws of the State of New York (only to the extent not inconsistent with the substantive and procedural provisions of the Federal Arbitration Act).
• Unless the parties agree otherwise, the legal place of the arbitration shall be New York, New York. In-person hearings, if required, however, can be held in any location fixed by agreement of the parties or by the AAA in accordance with the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules.
• The arbitrator will not be bound by rulings in other arbitrations involving Change.org to which you are not a party.

Here are additional stipulations related to the enforcement of our Dispute Resolution Terms:

• Issues relating to the scope and enforceability of this arbitration agreement are for an AAA arbitrator to decide. The arbitrator, and not any federal, state, or local court, will have exclusive authority to resolve any dispute relating to the interpretation, applicability, unconscionability, arbitrability, enforceability, or formation of these Terms, including any claim that all or any part of these Dispute Resolution Terms is void or voidable. However, as stated above, the preceding two sentences will not apply to our “class action waiver” terms.
• If any provision of these Terms is found by an arbitrator to be invalid, you and Change.org nevertheless agree that the arbitrator should endeavor to give effect to the intentions reflected in the provision to the greatest extent possible, and the other provisions of these Terms shall remain in full force and effect.
• You agree that any claim within the scope of these Dispute Resolution Terms must be filed within one (1) year after the claim or cause of action first accrues, or within the applicable statute of limitations (if shorter), or forever be barred. This limitation period shall not be enlarged or tolled under any circumstances, including but not limited to equitable tolling or tolling due to the pendency of other lawsuits.

When an arbitrator issues a conclusion, the following terms apply:

• The arbitrator’s decision will follow these Terms and will be final and binding. The arbitrator will have authority to award relief warranted by the individual claim before the arbitrator. The award rendered by the arbitrator may be confirmed and enforced in any court having jurisdiction thereof.
• Any award: (i) will be limited to the parties in the dispute; (ii) will not bind third parties; (iii) will include a reasoned written decision explaining the findings and conclusions; (iv) will not be appealable; (v) will be governed by and must comply with these Dispute Resolution Terms; (vi) will be limited to monetary relief (if any relief is awarded); (vii) and will include no injunctive relief.
• To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law and the AAA Rules, the arbitrator’s award shall be limited to the prevailing party’s actual damages, as opposed to punitive damages, exemplary damages, multiple damages, statutory damages, or other damages not measured by the prevailing party’s actual demonstrated loss or harm.
• For the avoidance of doubt, to the extent the AAA Rules affirmatively require that a particular category of relief be made available, these Terms are not intended to restrict or forbid the award of such relief.

There are fees associated with arbitration. Here are our terms related to those fees and costs:

• Payment for any and all reasonable AAA filing, administrative, and arbitrator fees will be in accordance with the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules.
• The arbitrator may make rulings and resolve disputes as to the payment and reimbursement of fees or expenses at any time during the proceeding and upon request from either party made within fourteen (14) days of the arbitrator’s ruling on the merits.

These are our confidentiality terms:

• Both you and Change.org agree to keep all arbitration proceedings, all information exchanged between the parties, and any settlement offers confidential, unless otherwise required by law or requested by law enforcement or any court or governmental body. However, you and/or Change.org may each disclose these matters to each party’s respective attorneys, accountants, auditors, and insurance providers, provided they agree to keep such information confidential.

If you do not want to arbitrate disputes with Change.org, and you are an individual, you may opt-out of these Terms. Here’s how:

• To opt-out of our Dispute Resolution Terms, you must send an email to ArbOptOut@change.org within thirty (30) days of the first date you login and/or use Change.org following Change.org’s adoption of these Terms. In the email, you must include: your name, residence address, email address associated with your Change.org account, and a clear statement that you want to opt-out of these Dispute Resolution Terms.

Current Dispute Resolution Terms (valid until May 1, 2023):

Change.org is a U.S.-based company and these Terms are governed by laws of the State of California and the United States of America, without regard to their conflict of law principles. If a court having proper authority decides that any portion of these terms, policies, and guidelines is invalid, only the part that is invalid will not apply and the rest will still be in effect. The official language of these Terms is English. If there is a conflict between the English language version and any translation, the English language version will prevail.

In the event of any dispute, claim, question, or disagreement arising from or relating to these Terms or an alleged breach thereof, whether arising in contract, tort or otherwise, between you and us, we shall use our respective best efforts to settle the dispute. If a dispute arises, the complaining party shall provide written notice to the other party in a document specifically entitled “Notice of Dispute,” specifically setting forth the precise nature of the dispute. Please email any Notice of Dispute to help@change.org or send by postal mail to our head office at:

Dispute Resolution
Change.org, PBC
548 Market Street
Private Mailbox 29993
San Francisco, CA 94104-5401
USA

You can also contact our support team through our Help Center at https://help.change.org/ to let us know you have mailed your Notice of Dispute. Following Change.org’s receipt of the Notice of Dispute, the parties shall consult and negotiate with each other in good faith and, recognizing their mutual interest, attempt to reach a just and equitable solution of the dispute that is satisfactory to both parties. If the parties are unable to reach a resolution of the dispute through this dispute resolution mechanism within 90 days of the receipt of the Initial Notice of Dispute, then any subsequent claim, legal proceedings, or litigation arising in connection with the Change.org services will be brought solely in the federal or state courts located in San Francisco County, California, United States, and you consent to the jurisdiction of and venue in such courts and waive any objection as to inconvenient forum.

For users residing in India: In the event of a dispute, Change.org’s Dispute Resolution Terms apply to the fullest extent permissible. For disputes, claims or difference either in interpretation or otherwise, that require resolution outside the scope of existing Terms above, the governing law shall be the applicable laws of India and parties shall be deemed to have submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts in Bangalore, India, without reference to any conflict of laws principles. Without any prejudice, Change.org shall have the right to seek and obtain any injunctive, provisional or interim relief from any court of competent jurisdiction to protect its trade-mark or other intellectual property rights or confidential information or to preserve the status quo.

Text messaging

By submitting your mobile phone number and agreeing to receive text messages from Change.org, you are consenting to the following Terms:

Authorization to Text You. You confirm that the phone number you provide to Change.org belongs to you. You agree to receive periodic text messages from or on behalf of Change.org, which may, or may not, be sent using an automatic telephone dialing system. The messages may be marketing or informational messages related to the use of Change.org’s services.

Consent Not Mandatory. You understand that you are not required to provide your consent to receive automated messages as a condition of purchasing any property, goods, or use of services.

Opt-Out. You can opt-out of this service at any time. Just text “STOP” “END” “CANCEL” “UNSUBSCRIBE” OR “QUIT” to the phone number. After you text your opt-out request to us, we will send you an SMS reply to confirm that you have been unsubscribed. After this, you will no longer receive SMS messages from us. If you want to join again, just sign up as you did the first time or text “START,” and we will start sending SMS messages to you again.

Help. If you are experiencing any issues, you can reply via text message with the keyword HELP or you can get help by visiting our Help Center.

Carriers Not Liable. Carriers, such as AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.

Message and Data Rates May Apply. Message and data rates may apply for any messages sent to you from us and to us from you. If you have any questions about your text plan or data plan, please contact your wireless provider.

Privacy. If you have any questions regarding privacy, please read our Privacy Policy.

Updates to Terms

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms of Service at any time. We’ll let you know of any significant changes by posting a notice on our platform or by sending an email to the address associated with your account. Your continued use of our services after we post any modifications or updates to the Terms constitutes your acceptance of those changes. It is your responsibility to review these Terms periodically and stay informed of any updates or changes.

How to contact us

We’d love to hear your questions, concerns, and feedback about this policy. If you have any suggestions for us, let us know through our Help Center or at help@change.org. You can also write to the following address:

Change.org, PBC
548 Market Street #29993
San Francisco, CA 94104-5401
USA

If you are located with the European Union, you may also contact our EU Representative:

Change.org, PBC
Carrer de Santaló, 10 1st Floor
08021 Barcelona
Spain

Because email or postal communications are not always secure, please do not include credit card or other sensitive information in your emails or letters to us.

Thanks for supporting change in your community – we can’t wait to see what you’ll change next!

Privacy addendum for petition starters

1. Definitions

1. “Applicable Data Protection Laws” means all applicable rules and legislation pertaining to the Processing of Personal Data under the Agreement, including, but not limited to, the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (“GDPR”), any national rules and legislations implementing the GDPR, and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (“UK GDPR”).
2. The terms “Controller”, “Data Subject”, “Personal Data”, “Personal Data Breach”, “Process”, and “Supervisory Authority” shall have the meaning given to them under Applicable Data Protection Laws.

2. Description of the Joint Processing of Personal Data

This Addendum represents the arrangements made between Change.org, PBC and the petition starters determines the respective responsibilities and obligations for each Change.org, PBC and petition starter under Applicable Data Protection Laws for the processing activities related to decision makers’ personal data as described in the Privacy Policy (hereinafter “Joint Processing”).

3. Description of the roles of Change.org, PBC and petition starter

For the Joint Processing, Change.org, PBC and petition starters’ responsibilities for compliance with the obligations under the GDPR with regard to the Joint Processing are determined as follows:

Obligation under Applicable Data Protection Laws	Change.org, PBC	Petition starter
Requirement of legal basis for Joint Processing	✔︎
Ensuring that the data entered corresponds to a decision maker and not to a third party with no control over the request		✔︎
Providing information to Data Subjects on Joint Processing of Personal Data	✔︎
Response to Data Subjects’ requests	✔︎
Notification of Personal Data Breach to competent Supervisory Authorities	✔︎
Notification of Personal Data Breach to Data Subject	✔︎
Communication to competent Supervisory Authorities	✔︎
Making available the essence of this Addendum	✔︎

4. Point of contact

The point of contact regarding this Addendum can be reached at dpt@change.org.