Safety, Content Reporting, Moderation and Appeals

1. Our approach

Symposed is a user-to-user collaboration service. Users can create listings and other content and can communicate with one another. We aim to reduce illegal content, fraud, harassment, confidentiality breaches and other serious misuse through clear rules, user controls, reporting, moderation and account action.

2. How to report content or conduct

Use the in-product Report function where available for a project, profile, review or private message. You can also via our contact form. Reports may be made by users and, where relevant, by people who do not have a Symposed account.

Please identify the content or account, explain the concern and provide relevant context. Do not unnecessarily reproduce patient data, intimate material or other illegal content in a report. If sensitive content is already on Symposed, use the existing content link or identifier where possible.

3. Matters that should be reported urgently

• Patient-identifiable information, confidential clinical records or research datasets containing personal data.

• Child sexual exploitation or abuse content or suspected grooming.

• Credible threats, violence, stalking, blackmail or serious harassment.

• Terrorist content or content facilitating serious criminal activity.

• Fraudulent projects, impersonation or scams.

• Intimate-image abuse, doxxing or publication of private contact details without authority.

• Serious research misconduct using Symposed, such as sold authorship, fabricated projects or fake supervisor claims.

• Account compromise or a security incident.

4. What we may do after a report

Depending on the information available and the risk, we may:

• acknowledge or triage the report;

• temporarily restrict access to content or messaging;

• review relevant public content, account information or reported private messages;

• ask the reporter or affected user for more information;

• warn a user or require corrective action;

• remove or disable access to content;

• restrict message requests, applications or other functionality;

• remove verification or badges;

• suspend or terminate an account;

• preserve relevant information where lawful and necessary;

• notify service providers, institutions, regulators, law enforcement or other competent bodies where required by law or otherwise lawful and necessary; and

• where legally required, report detected and unreported child sexual exploitation and abuse content to the National Crime Agency.

The action taken will depend on the circumstances. We do not promise to disclose confidential moderation information, another user's personal data, law-enforcement communications or security details to a reporter.

5. Illegal content

Our Acceptable Use Policy prohibits illegal content and activity. We use proportionate processes intended to remove or restrict priority illegal content swiftly and to remove other illegal content when we become aware of it. We may act before a final court determination where we reasonably consider urgent restriction necessary to manage risk or comply with legal duties.

6. Private messages and message requests

Private messages are not public, but users can report messages. We may review reported content and related account information where reasonably necessary. Recipients can reject message requests. Where the Service offers blocking or messaging restrictions, users should use those controls and report attempts to evade them.

7. Complaints about our moderation or terms enforcement

You may complain if you believe:

• we failed to act appropriately on content you reported as illegal or prohibited;

• we removed or restricted your content incorrectly;

• we suspended, terminated or restricted your account incorrectly; or

• we did not apply a relevant safety provision in our Terms of Service consistently.

Use our contact form. Identify the decision and explain why you believe it should be reviewed. We may ask for further information. A review may confirm, vary or reverse the original action.

Repeated, abusive or knowingly false reports may themselves breach our policies. This does not prevent good-faith reporting or legal complaints.

8. Emergency situations

Symposed is not an emergency or crisis service and does not monitor content continuously. If there is an immediate risk of death, serious injury or crime, contact the emergency services or the relevant competent authority. You may also report the relevant Symposed account or content so that we can consider platform action.

9. Record keeping and policy changes

We may keep proportionate records of risk assessments, reports, moderation decisions, complaints and policy reviews where required for safety, legal compliance and platform integrity. We may update safety measures and this policy as the Service and regulatory requirements change.