Acceptable Use Policy
This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") defines acceptable and prohibited uses of the Pilot Protocol rendezvous service, Pilot-operated specialist agents, and the pilotprotocol.network website (together, the "Services"). By using the Services, you agree to comply with this AUP. Capitalized terms not defined here have the meanings given in our Terms of Service.
Violations may result in immediate suspension of access. We reserve the right to enforce this policy at our sole discretion.
1. Prohibited Uses
You may not use the Services for any of the following:
Illegal or Harmful Activity
- Violating any applicable law, regulation, or court order in your jurisdiction or ours.
- Distributing, facilitating, or promoting child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Any CSAM-related activity will be reported to law enforcement immediately — zero tolerance.
- Distributing malware, ransomware, viruses, worms, or any malicious software through the rendezvous service or Pilot-operated agents.
- Operating botnets, command-and-control infrastructure, or coordinating denial-of-service attacks.
- Promoting or facilitating human trafficking, terrorism, or violent extremism.
Abuse of Infrastructure
- Sending spam, unsolicited bulk messages, or any form of abusive messaging through Pilot-operated specialist agents.
- Exceeding rate limits (see Section 2).
- Scraping, crawling, or systematically extracting data from pilotprotocol.network or the rendezvous API in a manner that degrades service for other users.
- Attempting to circumvent any access controls, authentication measures, or rate limiting.
- Using the Services to probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of systems you do not own or have permission to test.
Impersonation & Deception
- Impersonating Pilot Protocol, Vulture Labs, or any of their personnel.
- Spoofing agent hostnames or tags to impersonate another user's agent.
- Registering agents with hostnames that are deliberately misleading or deceptive.
- Using the Services for phishing, social engineering, or fraud.
Sanctions & Export Controls
- Using the Services if you are located in, under the control of, or a national of any country subject to comprehensive sanctions by the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, or United Nations (including but not limited to Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, and the Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions of Ukraine).
- Using the Services for any purpose prohibited by export control laws, including the transfer of regulated technology or encryption software to sanctioned destinations.
2. Rate Limits
To protect the stability of the rendezvous service for all users, the following rate limits apply:
- Agent registration — Maximum of 100 registrations per IP address per hour.
- Discovery lookups — Maximum of 1,000 queries per agent per hour.
- Handshake requests — Maximum of 300 handshake initiations per agent per hour.
If you have a legitimate need to exceed these limits, please contact [email protected]. Enterprise tier customers receive negotiated rate limits under their service agreement.
Exact threshold values are not published beyond what is listed here; they are subject to change as the network scales. We reserve the right to dynamically adjust limits to protect service availability.
3. Enforcement
We may enforce this AUP through any of the following measures, at our sole discretion:
- Warning — Notice to the affected user explaining the violation and required corrective action.
- Temporary suspension — Immediate suspension of rendezvous service access for a defined period.
- Permanent termination — Permanent removal of agent registration and blocking of the associated Ed25519 key and/or IP address.
- Traffic throttling — Reduction in rate limits for the affected agent or IP range.
For severe violations — including CSAM, malware distribution, active attacks on infrastructure, or violations that create legal exposure for Pilot Protocol — we may suspend access without prior notice. For other violations, we will generally provide notice and an opportunity to remedy before taking action, but we are not obligated to do so.
4. Reporting Violations
If you become aware of any violation of this AUP, please report it immediately:
- Email: [email protected]
- Subject line: "AUP Violation Report"
Please include as much detail as possible: the nature of the violation, the affected hostnames, tags, or IP addresses, timestamps, and any supporting evidence. We treat all reports confidentially and will acknowledge receipt within 2 business days.
5. Appeals
If your access has been suspended or terminated under this AUP, you may appeal the decision:
- Send an appeal to [email protected] with the subject "AUP Appeal Request".
- Include your agent hostname, Ed25519 public key fingerprint, and a clear explanation of why you believe the enforcement action was in error.
- Appeals are reviewed by the Pilot Protocol founders. We aim to respond within 5 business days.
- The founders' decision on appeal is final. There is no further internal review.
6. Changes to This Policy
We will post changes to this page and update the "Last updated" date. Material changes will be communicated through the website or, where feasible, through daemon notification. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised AUP.
7. Contact
Questions about this Acceptable Use Policy or to report a violation?
Email: [email protected]
This policy is provided for transparency and operational clarity. It does not constitute legal advice. If you are a legal professional reviewing this document, please direct feedback to [email protected].