Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)

Status: In Legal Review
Last Updated: January 16, 2026

This Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) expands on Section 4 of our Terms of Service. It defines prohibited activities and enforcement procedures for NorthRelay.

Prohibited Activities

1. Spam and Unsolicited Email

You may NOT use NorthRelay to send:

• Unsolicited commercial email (UCE) or bulk marketing without opt-in consent
• Email to purchased, rented, or scraped mailing lists
• Email in violation of CAN-SPAM (US), CASL (Canada), or GDPR (EU)
• Email after recipients have unsubscribed or opted out

Spam Thresholds:

• Complaint rate > 0.1% triggers review
• Complaint rate > 0.5% results in suspension
• Bounce rate > 10% triggers investigation

2. Phishing and Fraud

• Impersonating other companies, brands, or individuals
• Deceptive subject lines or "From" addresses
• Email designed to steal credentials or sensitive information
• Financial fraud or advance-fee scams

3. Malicious Content

• Malware, viruses, ransomware, or trojans
• Executable attachments without legitimate business purpose
• Links to phishing sites or malicious downloads

4. Harassment and Illegal Content

• Threatening or abusive communications
• Child sexual abuse material (CSAM)
• Content that incites violence or hatred
• Content illegal under Canadian federal law

5. Technical Abuse

• Attempting to bypass rate limits or quota restrictions
• Reverse engineering proprietary Dashboard or routing logic
• Sharing API keys or SMTP credentials with unauthorized parties
• Using NorthRelay to attack other services (DDoS, port scanning)

6. Commercial Restrictions

• Reselling NorthRelay without a reseller agreement
• Using NorthRelay to build a competing email service
• Publishing comparative benchmarks without written permission

Enforcement Procedures

Level 1: Warning

Triggered by:

• First-time minor violation (e.g., accidental spam complaint)
• Complaint rate between 0.1% - 0.3%
• Bounce rate between 5% - 10%

Action:

• Email warning sent to account owner
• Dashboard notification
• 7-day remediation period

Level 2: Temporary Suspension

Triggered by:

• Complaint rate > 0.5%
• Multiple spam reports from different providers
• Detected phishing or malware
• Failure to remediate after warning

Action:

• Immediate service suspension (SMTP access revoked)
• Email to account owner with specific violation details
• Dashboard access maintained for data export
• Reinstatement possible after investigation (3-5 business days)

Level 3: Permanent Termination

Triggered by:

• Severe violations (CSAM, terrorism, financial fraud)
• Repeated violations after reinstatement
• Intentional abuse or malicious activity
• Law enforcement request

Action:

• Permanent account termination
• No refund of prepaid fees
• Immediate data deletion (30-day retention waived)
• Possible referral to law enforcement
• IP address and email blocklisted from future registration

Reporting Abuse

If You Receive Abuse from a NorthRelay User

Email: abuse@alteriom.com

Include:

• Full email headers (View Source / Show Original)
• Description of the violation
• Any relevant screenshots

Response Time: 24 hours for abuse reports

If You Suspect Your Account Was Compromised

Email: security@alteriom.com

We will:

• Immediately rotate your API keys and SMTP passwords
• Investigate suspicious activity
• Provide incident report within 72 hours

IP Reputation Management

NorthRelay operates two IP pools: Shared (Free/Starter/Micro tiers) andIsolated (Pro/Scale tiers).

Shared Pool

• Your reputation affects other users on the same IP
• Spam complaints can cause blocklisting for all users
• We monitor reputation 24/7 and take proactive enforcement action

Isolated Pool

• Dedicated IP address (via WireGuard tunnel)
• Your reputation is isolated from other users
• You are responsible for maintaining your own IP reputation
• Blocklisting does not affect other NorthRelay customers

If Your IP Gets Blocklisted:

1. We notify you immediately via email and Dashboard
2. You have 48 hours to remediate (remove bad contacts, fix sending practices)
3. We assist with delisting requests to Spamhaus, Barracuda, etc.
4. Failure to remediate may result in downgrade to Shared Pool or termination

Appeals Process

If you believe your account was suspended or terminated in error:

1. Email legal@alteriom.com with subject "AUP Appeal"
2. Include your account email and detailed explanation
3. Provide evidence (email headers, screenshots, etc.)

Response Time: 5 business days

Note: Appeals are reviewed by our Abuse Team, not automated systems.