1. Acceptance of Terms
By accessing or using the VocalNews news feed service (the “Service”), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service and any additional terms referenced herein.
If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not access or use the Service.
2. Description of the Service
The Service provides users with curated access to news content in the form of brief text and audio summaries, generated from publicly available news sources, including RSS feeds and similar aggregation mechanisms.
The Service uses human editorial judgment and AI-assisted tools to create original summaries and commentary that explain what is happening, without reproducing full original articles or substantial portions of them.
For each summarized item, the Service displays the title or a very short excerpt (where provided by the publisher) and a link to the original article on the publisher’s website, so that users can access the full content at the source.
The Service may be supported by advertising, subscription plans, or other commercial arrangements and may evolve or change over time.
3. Service Provider and Governing Law
The Service is operated by VocalNews (the “Provider”), which acts as the controller of the Service and the primary point of contact for users and publishers.
These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Italy, without regard to conflict of law principles.
Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms or the Service shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Milan, Italy, without prejudice to any mandatory consumer rights you may have under applicable law.
4. User Accounts
4.1 Registration
- You must provide accurate, complete, and up-to-date information when creating an account on the Service.
- You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activities that occur under your account.
- You must promptly notify us at legal@vocalnews.it of any unauthorized use of your account or any other breach of security.
4.2 Account Responsibilities
- You are solely responsible for all activity performed through your account.
- You must not share your credentials with any third party or allow others to use your account.
- You must keep your registration and contact details accurate and current at all times.
We may take appropriate measures, including suspension or termination of your account, if we reasonably believe that your account is being used in violation of these Terms.
5. Acceptable Use
5.1 Permitted Uses
Subject to compliance with these Terms and applicable law, you may:
- Access and view summaries, headlines, and links to original news articles through the Service.
- Listen to audio versions of news recaps generated by or through the Service.
- Share links to summaries or original articles using the sharing features provided within the Service.
- Customize your news feed preferences and listening experience within the options made available.
You agree to use the Service only for personal, non-commercial purposes unless you have entered into a separate written agreement with us.
5.2 Prohibited Uses
You may not:
- Violate any applicable local, national, or international law or regulation, including Italian and EU copyright and data protection laws.
- Infringe or misappropriate any intellectual property or other proprietary rights of VocalNews, publishers, or third parties.
- Transmit or distribute spam, malware, or any other harmful or illegal content through the Service.
- Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service, user accounts, or our systems, or interfere with the integrity or performance of the Service.
- Use automated tools, bots, scrapers, or similar technologies to access, extract, index, or harvest content from the Service or our APIs, except as expressly authorized in writing by us.
- Impersonate any person or entity, misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity, or provide false or misleading information.
- Use the Service in a way that could reasonably be considered a replacement or systematic substitute for accessing original news content directly from publishers’ websites.
We reserve the right to investigate and take appropriate legal action in response to any prohibited use of the Service.
6. Content and Intellectual Property
6.1 Our Content and Summaries
All software, user interfaces, audio files, summaries, commentary, and other content created by or for the Service (collectively, “VocalNews Content”) are owned by VocalNews or its licensors and are protected by copyright and related rights under Italian and EU law.
VocalNews Content includes original summaries and audio recaps that are created through a combination of human editorial judgment and AI-assisted tools, based on brief excerpts and metadata from third-party news sources.
You may access and view VocalNews Content for your personal, non-commercial use, and you may share links to such content using the sharing features provided by the Service.
Except as explicitly permitted in these Terms or by prior written consent from VocalNews, you may not reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, adapt, or create derivative works from VocalNews Content.
6.2 Third-Party News Content and Publisher Rights
The Service aggregates and uses headlines, very short excerpts, and other limited elements from press publications made available by third-party publishers, primarily through RSS feeds and similar mechanisms.
We use such elements only to the extent necessary to identify the article and to allow users to understand and access the original source via a hyperlink, consistent with Italian copyright law, including Article 70 (quotation and summary) and Article 43-bis (press publishers’ right and brief excerpt exception).
We do not reproduce full articles or substantial parts of them, and the summaries we provide are designed to be original editorial content that does not substitute for reading the original article on the publisher’s website.
All trademarks, logos, and trade names of third parties (including publishers and news organizations) remain the property of their respective owners and are used only to identify sources and provide attribution.
6.3 Publisher Opt-Out and Cooperation
VocalNews seeks to operate in a way that is respectful of publishers’ rights and supportive of quality journalism.
If you are a publisher or rights holder and believe that the way in which your content is referenced by the Service exceeds the brief excerpt and hyperlink exceptions or otherwise infringes your rights, please contact us at legal@vocalnews.it so we can promptly review and, where appropriate, adjust or remove the relevant use.
We also offer the possibility for publishers to request that their feeds or specific domains be excluded from our aggregation, which we will honor on a best-efforts basis after verifying the request.
6.4 User Content
If the Service allows you to submit comments, feedback, or other content (“User Content”), you retain ownership of your User Content.
By submitting User Content, you grant VocalNews a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, translate, distribute, and display such content as necessary to operate, improve, and promote the Service.
You represent and warrant that you have all rights necessary to submit User Content and to grant the above license, and that your User Content does not infringe any third-party rights or violate any law.
7. Privacy
Your use of the Service is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal data in compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applicable Italian data protection law.
By using the Service, you acknowledge that you have read and understood our Privacy Policy.
8. Disclaimers
8.1 Service Availability
The Service is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis, without any warranties, whether express or implied, except to the extent such warranties cannot be excluded under mandatory law.
We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free, or that any defects will be corrected within a particular timeframe.
We may modify, suspend, or discontinue all or part of the Service at any time, including for maintenance, technical, or legal reasons.
8.2 Content Accuracy and Completeness
News and other information presented via the Service may be based on third-party sources over which we have no control, and may be subject to rapid change.
We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of any summaries, commentary, or underlying third-party content, which are provided for information purposes only and should not be relied upon as professional advice or as a substitute for consulting original sources.
You are responsible for verifying any information obtained through the Service before acting on it.
9. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, VocalNews and its officers, employees, and agents shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages arising out of or in connection with your use of, or inability to use, the Service.
Our aggregate liability for any claims relating to the Service shall, to the extent permitted by law, be limited to the greater of (a) the amounts you have paid to us for the Service in the preceding twelve months, if any, or (b) one hundred euros (€100).
Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any liability that cannot be excluded or limited under mandatory law, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence or for intentional misconduct.
10. Termination
10.1 Termination by You
You may terminate your account and stop using the Service at any time by following the instructions provided in your account settings or by contacting us.
10.2 Suspension or Termination by Us
We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service, in whole or in part, if:
- You materially or repeatedly breach these Terms or any applicable law.
- We are required to do so by law, regulation, or a competent authority.
- We decide, in our reasonable discretion, to discontinue the Service.
Where legally required, we will provide you with prior notice of suspension or termination and an opportunity to appeal.
11. Changes to These Terms
We may update or modify these Terms from time to time, for example to reflect changes in the Service, applicable law, or regulatory guidance.
If we make material changes, we will notify you by appropriate means (such as by email, in-app notice, or a banner on the website) and indicate the date the changes take effect.
Your continued use of the Service after the updated Terms become effective constitutes your acceptance of them.
12. Contact Information
If you have any questions or concerns about these Terms or the Service, you can contact us at:
- Email: legal@vocalnews.it