Counterwave Hosting Terms of Service

Welcome to Counterwave Hosting. We’re glad you’re here, sharing your independent voice with the world. The following terms and conditions (“Terms”) govern all use of the Counterwave Hosting platform and all related content, hosting services, domains, and products (“Our Services”). Our Services are offered subject to your acceptance, without modification, of all the terms and conditions contained herein and our accompanying policies (including, but not limited to, our Privacy Policy) (collectively, the “Agreement”).

By accessing or using any part of Our Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms.

Quick Summary for the Independent Creator

Here’s a quick, non-legal overview of what matters most to our community:

You Own It: You retain all rights and ownership to your content, blog posts, podcasts, and data. We are simply the platform.
Support is Real: We commit to responsive, intelligent human support to help keep your project running smoothly.
Free Speech, Not Free Pass: We support independent voices, but there are clear, non-negotiable rules against illegal, abusive, or harmful activity (see Prohibited Uses).
Transparency in Billing: Our subscriptions automatically renew to prevent downtime, but you can cancel any service easily in your account.

I. Hosting & Your Content

This section covers the core relationship: the hosting services we provide and the content you create.

Access and Use of Services: By using our entry-level and mid-tier hosting services (including Shared Hosting, Managed WordPress, and VPS solutions), you grant us access to your website and data solely for the purpose of operation, maintenance, and security of Our Services.
Data Ownership: You own your data and content. We claim no intellectual property rights over the files, databases, or creative works you host on our platform. You grant us a worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to copy and store your data only to the extent necessary to operate the Service.
Security Vulnerabilities: To promptly address security threats, we may access your site to remove malicious code or push necessary security upgrades, following a notification to you.
Service Level Agreement (SLA):
- We guarantee a 99.9% uptime SLA.
- We do not place hard limits on traffic, visits, or bandwidth for most plans. However, should your site experience sustained, excessive spikes in traffic or resource usage that significantly impact the shared platform, we may alert you to upgrade your hosting plan. In this extreme scenario, the SLA will not apply.
- If the SLA is not met due to our failure (excluding third-party errors, user-error, or natural disasters), you are entitled to an SLA credit, valued at 5% of your monthly hosting charges for each full hour of downtime beyond the SLA, not to exceed 100% of your hosting charges.

II. Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) – Prohibited Conduct

We support independent, expressive voices. However, the integrity and safety of the entire Counterwave community are paramount. When using Our Services, you agree not to:

Violation of Law: Violate any state, federal, or foreign laws or regulations.
Intellectual Property Infringement: Infringe on any intellectual property rights (e.g., copyright, trademark, patent).
Hate & Harassment: Publish, host, or transmit content that is defamatory, slanderous, threatening, harassing, discriminatory based on gender, sexual orientation, race, or age, or promotes hate.
Malicious Activity: Distribute material that is or enables malware, spyware, adware, or other malicious code.
Resource Abuse: Send spam or bulk unsolicited messages, interfere with, disrupt, or attack any service or network, or use Our Services to host TOR exit nodes or engage in cryptocurrency mining.
Misrepresentation: Create a false identity for the purpose of misleading others.

III. Payments, Subscriptions, & Refunds

Subscriptions: Our Services (Hosting, Domains, etc.) operate on a pre-pay subscription basis (monthly or annually) until you cancel.
Automatic Renewal: To ensure your site remains online and your projects aren’t interrupted, Paid Services are automatically renewed. You authorize us to use the payment mechanism on file to collect the applicable subscription fee.
Cancellation: You can cancel any Paid Service at any time through your account overview page. Your membership will remain active until the end of your current billing cycle.
Refunds (Hosting/Services):
- Refunds for subscription payments are issued at the discretion of our support staff. No refunds will be given for scheduled subscription payments after 30 days, except in rare cases due to billing errors on our end.
- Refunds will not be provided if your account is in violation of these Terms.
Products Not Refundable: Domain Registration, Renewal, Transfer, and Redemption fees are not refundable under any circumstances.
Security Responsibility: You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account, including the use of strong passwords and two-factor authentication. Unauthorized transactions resulting from inadequate account security will not be eligible for a refund.

IV. Domain Names (Provided by Counterwave)

Ownership: Domain names purchased through Counterwave Hosting are owned by you, the Registrant, as indicated by applicable ICANN rules.
Registrant Information: You are required to provide accurate and up-to-date contact information. Failure to do so may result in the suspension or cancellation of your domain registration.
Dispute Resolution: Any domain name dispute between you and a third party must be resolved between the involved parties and will be governed by ICANN’s Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP).

V. Support & Security

Support Scope: We offer Our Services “as is” and commit to providing responsive, knowledgeable support. Our support team is available 24/7. We will do our utmost to support anything related to our core offerings, but we reserve the right to determine which requests are beyond our reasonable scope (e.g., complex custom development for third-party software).
Troubleshooting Access: You may grant our support team temporary access to your sites to troubleshoot problems. It is your responsibility to obtain a full backup of your site before requesting support or granting access to support staff. You take full responsibility for lost content or downtime resulting from support, particularly on production sites. We strongly recommend troubleshooting on staging environments first.
Account Security: You are solely responsible for all activity that occurs under your username. You must keep your password secure and immediately notify us of any unauthorized uses or security breaches.
Access Credentials: When our team requires access to your systems, you must provide temporary accounts. These credentials must be submitted only through the secure forms provided by our support team and are subject to deletion after a 15-day retention period.

VI. General Legal Notices

Minimum Age: Our Services are for those over the age of 13 (or 16 in the European Union). By registering, you confirm you meet the age requirement.
Disclaimer of Warranties: Our Services are provided “as is.” Counterwave Hosting disclaims all warranties of any kind, express or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that Our Services will be error-free or that access will be continuous or uninterrupted.
Limitation of Liability: In no event will Counterwave Hosting be liable for any special, incidental, or consequential damages; the cost of procurement for substitute products or services; interruption of use or loss or corruption of data; or for any amounts that exceed the fees paid by you to us during the twelve (12) month period prior to the cause of action.
Governing Law: This Agreement will be governed by the laws of the State of New York, U.S.A. (excluding its conflict of law provisions). The venue for disputes will be the state and federal courts located in New York.