Terms of Use

01

Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using this platform in any way — including reading, linking to, sharing, or submitting content — you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, you should not use this platform.

These terms apply to all users of the platform: casual readers, researchers, journalists, legal representatives, and op-ed contributors. Where different terms apply to contributors, they are set out separately in §6.

02

What This Platform Is

The South Asian Story is a non-commercial, civic journalism project. It aggregates and summarises verified reporting on human rights across South and Southeast Asia. It also publishes original op-ed commentary from contributing writers.

This platform is not a social network, a forum, or an interactive community. It does not host user comments or user-generated content outside of the controlled op-ed submission process. It has no commercial purpose and accepts no advertising.

By its nature, this platform covers difficult subjects — arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, armed conflict, persecution of minorities, and press freedom violations. Content is selected to inform, not to sensationalise.

03

Permitted Use

You are expressly permitted to:

• Read, browse, and search this platform freely and without restriction
• Share links to articles on social media, in emails, in academic work, or in journalism
• Quote brief excerpts for the purposes of news reporting, commentary, criticism, or academic research, provided the source and original URL are credited
• Cite and reference content for legal, advocacy, or human rights documentation purposes
• Link to this platform from other websites, publications, or reports
• Use content for non-commercial educational purposes with attribution

No account, login, subscription, or payment is required for any of the above. We actively encourage sharing of content that serves the public interest.

04

Prohibited Conduct

The following conduct is strictly prohibited and may result in immediate access termination and referral to relevant legal authorities:

Harmful use of content

• Using content on this platform to identify, locate, surveil, harass, or endanger any individual, journalist, source, human rights defender, or member of our editorial team
• Using content to compile dossiers, profiles, or databases targeting individuals mentioned in human rights reporting
• Sharing content in a manner that strips context and may endanger sources or subjects — for example, republishing summaries to audiences hostile to the individuals named
• Using this platform's content to support, facilitate, or justify persecution, detention, or repression of any person

Technical misuse

• Automated scraping, crawling, or data harvesting of this platform without prior written permission from the editorial team
• Attempting to access, probe, or test any part of the platform's infrastructure, admin systems, or databases without authorisation
• Using the platform to distribute malware, phishing content, or any harmful code
• Attempting to interfere with the platform's availability or performance
• Circumventing any technical measures the platform uses to protect its content or infrastructure

Content misrepresentation

• Reproducing full article summaries, images, or editorial content in a manner that implies it is your own original work
• Altering, editing, or paraphrasing platform content in a way that misrepresents its meaning or the editorial team's conclusions
• Using the platform name, logo, or brand identity to suggest endorsement, affiliation, or sponsorship without written permission
• Falsely implying that any content published here represents the official position of any government, authority, or third-party organisation

Legal compliance

• Using this platform in any way that violates applicable law in your jurisdiction
• Accessing this platform for purposes that would expose the platform, its editors, or its sources to legal risk in any jurisdiction

05

Content and Intellectual Property

Our original content

Article summaries, editorial framing, curatorial decisions, op-ed publications, page design, and platform text are the intellectual property of The South Asian Story. They are published under a non-commercial public interest licence — you may share and cite them freely for non-commercial purposes with attribution, but you may not reproduce them in full for commercial gain without written permission.

Third-party source content

The underlying news reports, investigations, and documents we summarise are the intellectual property of their respective publishers and authors. Our summaries are derivative works created under fair dealing and fair use principles. We do not claim any rights over the underlying works. All original sources are linked directly.

Op-ed contributions

Contributing authors retain full copyright over their submitted works. The South Asian Story holds only a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to publish the work on this platform. See §6 for full contributor terms.

Platform name and mark

"The South Asian Story" as a platform name and any associated branding is not to be used in a way that implies endorsement, institutional affiliation, or editorial partnership without prior written agreement.

06

Contributor Terms

These terms apply to anyone who submits an op-ed pitch, draft, or any other content for potential publication on this platform.

• Ownership

  By submitting, you confirm that you are the sole author of the submitted work and that it does not infringe the copyright, privacy, or other rights of any third party.

• Licence granted

  You grant The South Asian Story a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to publish, display, and archive your work on this platform. This licence does not affect your ownership of the work.

• Right to republish

  You retain the right to republish your work in other outlets, provided you credit The South Asian Story as the original publication if it was first published here.

• Editorial changes

  We may copy-edit submissions for clarity, grammar, and house style. We will not alter the substance or argument of your piece without your agreement.

• Right of refusal

  We reserve the right to decline any submission without explanation. Submission does not constitute a right to publication.

• Accuracy

  You are responsible for the factual accuracy of any claims made in your submission. You should be prepared to provide sources for any material facts on request.

• Safety

  If your submission contains information that could endanger a source, individual, or community if published, you must flag this at the time of submission. We may request changes or decline to publish.

• Identification

  We publish author names and affiliations as submitted. If you have a safety concern about being identified — for example, because you are based in a jurisdiction where your views could result in personal risk — please discuss anonymisation or pseudonymous publication with the editorial team before submission.

07

Third-Party Sources

This platform aggregates summaries of reporting from third-party sources including wire agencies, NGOs, newspapers, court documents, and institutional reports. These summaries reflect the findings, allegations, and conclusions of those sources — not independent findings by The South Asian Story.

Links to external sources are provided for reader convenience. We do not control third-party websites and are not responsible for their content, availability, or accuracy. Inclusion of a source link does not imply endorsement of the publishing organisation or all content on their platform.

We take care to verify that sources are credible before summarising their reporting. However, we do not independently verify every factual claim in every article we summarise. Readers are encouraged to follow links to primary sources for full context.

08

Sensitive Content and Safety

This platform regularly covers events involving death, detention, violence, displacement, and persecution. Content is selected and framed to inform the public record on human rights — not to distress readers gratuitously.

Source protection

We do not publish information that would identify confidential sources, whistleblowers, or individuals who have provided information to journalists under an expectation of confidentiality. If you believe any content on this platform poses a risk to an identifiable individual, contact us immediately.

Editorial team safety

Members of our editorial team operate in an environment where press freedom risks are real. We do not publish personal details of editorial team members beyond those the team members have explicitly chosen to make public. Any attempt to identify, locate, contact in bad faith, or endanger editorial team members will be treated as a violation of these terms and referred to relevant authorities.

Operational security

Our platform operates under deliberate operational security measures including anonymous domain registration and off-shore hosting. These measures exist to protect the platform and its team from interference by hostile actors. Any attempt to circumvent these measures or to identify our infrastructure is prohibited.

09

Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, The South Asian Story, its editors, advisors, and contributors disclaim all liability for:

• The accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of any third-party reporting summarised on this platform
• Any loss or damage arising from reliance on content published on this platform
• Decisions made — by individuals, organisations, or authorities — based on content published here
• Temporary unavailability of the platform due to maintenance, technical failure, or external attack
• The content of any third-party website linked to from this platform
• Any harm arising from the platform being accessed in a jurisdiction where its content is restricted

This platform is provided on an "as is" basis. We make no warranties — express or implied — about the fitness of this platform for any particular purpose.

Nothing in these terms excludes liability for fraud, death, or personal injury caused by our own negligence, or any other liability that cannot be excluded by law.

10

Indemnification

If you use this platform in a way that violates these Terms of Use and that misuse results in a claim, loss, liability, or legal cost being brought against The South Asian Story or any member of its editorial team, you agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from those costs and losses to the fullest extent permitted by law.

This includes — but is not limited to — costs arising from your breach of §4 (Prohibited Conduct), your misrepresentation of platform content, your infringement of third-party rights in material you submit, or your use of this platform to identify or endanger any individual.

11

Takedown and Correction Requests

We operate a transparent, timely process for factual corrections and legitimate takedown requests. Full procedures are published in our Transparency Report.

• Factual corrections

  If you believe a summary contains a factual error, email us with the specific claim, the correct information, and a link to a credible source. We will acknowledge within 48 hours and respond within 7 working days.

• Copyright claims

  If you believe your copyrighted work has been reproduced without permission, submit a written claim identifying the content, your ownership rights, and the specific reproduction you object to. We will review and respond within 48 hours.

• Privacy and safety concerns

  If content on this platform identifies you in a way you did not consent to, or that you believe creates a safety risk, contact us immediately. Safety-related requests are reviewed as a priority.

• Government orders

  Government takedown orders must include a formal reference number and the legal basis for the request. All such orders are reviewed by legal counsel, logged in full, and published in our annual Transparency Report — regardless of outcome.

12

Termination of Access

We reserve the right to restrict or block access to this platform — including specific IP addresses, networks, or geographic regions — where we have reason to believe that access is being used in breach of these Terms, in particular §4 (Prohibited Conduct) or §8 (Sensitive Content and Safety).

We may also take technical or legal action against parties whose conduct threatens the availability, integrity, or safety of this platform or any individual associated with it.

In the ordinary case — casual readers accessing content — no restriction will ever be applied. These provisions exist solely to protect the platform's integrity and the safety of those it covers and those who run it.

13

Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms of Use are governed by applicable law in the jurisdiction in which The South Asian Story is registered and operated. We do not accept the jurisdiction of any court or legal authority in relation to content published on this platform where that content is protected expression under international human rights standards, including Article 19 of the ICCPR (freedom of expression) and applicable press freedom frameworks.

We will contest, on principle, any legal attempt to compel the removal of content that constitutes legitimate human rights journalism, and we will publish details of all such attempts in our Transparency Report.

Nothing in these terms constitutes legal advice. If you have a specific legal matter involving content on this platform, please seek independent legal counsel before contacting us.

14

Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms of Use to reflect changes in the platform, applicable law, or editorial practice. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and note what has changed and why.

We will never use a terms update to reduce protections for contributors or sources without clear notice. Continued use of the platform after a material change constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.

Previous versions of these terms are available on request by contacting the editorial team.

15

Contact

For any question about these Terms of Use, or to submit a correction, copyright claim, safety concern, or legal request:

• General enquiries & terms questions

  thesouthasianstory@gmail.com

  Response within 5 working days

• Corrections & copyright claims

  thesouthasianstory@gmail.com

  Acknowledged within 48 hours

• Safety concerns — urgent

  thesouthasianstory@gmail.com

  Priority response — please mark subject URGENT