Child Safety Standards

Our commitment

MusicConnect is an app for musicians, including young musicians who take part in bands, lessons and competitions. We have zero tolerance for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and for any conduct that sexualises, exploits or endangers a child.

These standards apply to every user, in every part of the app, worldwide.

What is prohibited

The following are strictly forbidden on MusicConnect:

• Child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in any form: images, video, audio, text or links.
• Sexualising a minor, including in messages, profiles, photos, usernames or posts.
• Grooming: building a relationship with a minor for sexual purposes.
• Sextortion, or soliciting sexual content or contact from a minor.
• Trafficking, or arranging offline contact with a minor for exploitation.
• Sharing or requesting a minor's private contact details or location for these purposes.

Breaking these rules results in immediate removal of the content and permanent termination of the account.

How we prevent harm

• Age collection at sign-up. Every account records a date of birth, which determines the protections applied to it.
• Parental permission for under-13s. Accounts for children under 13 stay restricted until a parent or guardian approves them through a verified email link.
• Younger members are private by default. They are hidden from public search and are harder for adults to contact.
• Contact controls. Users choose who may message them and who can see their details. These limits are enforced on our servers, not just in the app.
• Content moderation. Text is automatically screened against a prohibited-content filter, and uploaded images are subject to moderation review.
• Blocking. Any user can block another, which prevents all further contact.

Reporting a concern

Any user can report child safety concerns from inside the app. Every message, photo, post, listing and profile has a Report option, and reports go straight to our moderation team.

You do not need an account to raise a concern. Anyone, including a parent, guardian or teacher, can email us directly:

Report to [email protected]

How we respond

Reports involving child safety are treated as the highest priority. We:

• Review them urgently, ahead of all other reports.
• Remove offending content and suspend the account immediately.
• Preserve the relevant account data and content as evidence.
• Permanently ban the user and take steps to prevent them returning.

Reporting to authorities

We comply with child safety laws in the countries where MusicConnect is available. Where we identify apparent child sexual abuse material, we report it to the appropriate national and regional authorities, including:

• New Zealand Police and the Department of Internal Affairs (our home jurisdiction).
• The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), where applicable.
• Other national authorities as required by local law.

We cooperate fully with law enforcement requests relating to child safety.

Point of contact

Our designated child safety point of contact can be reached at [email protected]. This contact handles questions about our CSAM prevention practices and compliance.