TERMS OF USE

1. Acceptance of the Terms

These Terms of Use (the “Terms”) constitute a binding and enforceable legal contract between SOM SOUQ, its affiliated companies (together, the “Administrator”, “we”, “us”) and you. Please read these Terms carefully.

1. Your access and use of the SOM SOUQ website and mobile applications, as well as any service, content, and data available via them (together, the “Service” or the “Platform”) are governed by these Terms.
2. If you do not agree with any part of these Terms, or if you are not eligible or authorized to be bound by the Terms, then do not access or use the Service.
3. Please also review our Privacy Policy. The terms of the Privacy Policy and other supplemental terms, rules, policies, or documents that may be posted on the Platform from time to time are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to make changes or modifications to these Terms at any time and for any reason with or without prior notice.

2. Important Disclaimers

1. All services rendered by the Administrator are rendered “as is”, “as available” and “with all faults”, and the Administrator disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including without limitation any guarantees regarding condition, quality, life duration, performance, accuracy, reliability, commercial value, and suitability for specific purposes. All such warranties and liabilities are hereby excluded.
2. The Administrator has no control over and does not guarantee the existence, quality, safety, or legality of goods and services published by users on the Platform; the trustworthiness or accuracy of information provided by users in the announcements; the ability of sellers to sell goods or to provide services; the ability of buyers to pay for goods or services; or that a user will actually complete a transaction.
3. Administrator makes no guarantees concerning that manufacturing, import, export, offer, displaying, purchase, sale, advertising, and/or use of products or services, which are offered or displayed on the Platform do not infringe any third parties’ rights. Therefore, Administrator expressly disclaims any liability in connection to materials and information posted by users on the Platform.
4. You are encouraged to check the goods before payment and to request the seller to provide documents confirming compliance of the goods with applicable requirements of laws, regulations, rules, guidelines, and standards.
5. You acknowledge that you are solely responsible for your safety and you understand that you should meet with other individuals for the completion of a transaction only in safe public places in daylight hours. You are solely responsible for conducting due diligence of any individual or organization requesting a meeting to conduct a job interview or to complete a transaction. Administrator disclaims any responsibility for user’s interaction with any individual or organization.

3. Account Registration

1. In order to use certain features of the Service you may need to register an account on the Platform (the “Account”) and provide certain information about yourself as prompted by the registration form.
2. You may create an Account as an individual or as an authorized representative of a company.
3. You can register only one Account. If more than one person accesses its Account from the same device, we may request to upload proof of identity to avoid duplicate accounts.
4. You acknowledge that you are solely responsible for safeguarding and maintaining the confidentiality of access details to your Account and that you are fully responsible and liable for any activity performed using your Account access details.
5. You hereby represent and warrant to us that you have reached the age of majority or are accessing the Service under the supervision of a parent or legal guardian. All users who are minors in the jurisdiction in which they reside (generally under the age of 18) must have the permission of, and be directly supervised by, their parent or guardian to use the Service. If you are a minor, you must have your parent or guardian read and agree to these Terms prior to you using the Service.
6. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your Account, or your access to the Service, with or without notice to you, in the event that you breach these Terms.
7. You agree to immediately notify us of any unauthorized use, or suspected unauthorized use of your Account or any other breach of security. We cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with the above requirements.

4. Service

1. The Platform is an online service that allows users to create and publish announcements, view announcements published by other users, and communicate with other users using the contact details provided in the announcements.
2. The Administrator itself is not an importer, manufacturer, distributor, or seller of any item, as well as not a provider of any service posted by users on the Platform. In addition, the Administrator is neither a marketer nor a person acting on the user's behalf with respect to the marketing of any goods or services posted on the Platform. The actual sale and purchase contracts or services contracts are entered into directly between the users, and the Administrator itself is not a party to such transactions. The Administrator provides users with an opportunity to communicate.
3. Users shall be solely responsible to collect and remit any applicable taxes resulting from the sale of their goods or services posted on the Platform.
4. The Administrator reserves the right to delete or block access to announcements posted by users without any notice in the event of:
   • receiving mandatory judgments of competent public authorities
   • claim of a holder of intellectual property rights to terminate infringement of his/her rights by a user on the Platform
   • infringements of rights or legal interests of other users, legal entities, or individuals upon their reasonable request
   • detecting that an announcement posted by a user on the Platform breaches these Terms or any applicable law, regulation, rule, or standard.
5. The Administrator is authorized to delete or block announcements of users regardless of providing a user with the relevant substantiation.
6. The Administrator retains the right to implement any changes to the Service (whether to free or paid features) at any time, with or without notice. You acknowledge that a variety of Administrator’s actions may impair or prevent you from accessing the Service at certain times and/or in the same way, for limited periods or permanently, and agree that the Administrator has no responsibility or liability as a result of any such actions or results, including, without limitation, for the deletion of, or failure to make available to you, any content or services.
7. Each user of the Service is solely responsible for any and all his or her User Content (as defined below). Because we do not control the User Content, you acknowledge and agree that we are not responsible for any User Content and we make no guarantees regarding the accuracy, currency, suitability, or quality of any User Content, and we assume no responsibility for any User Content. Your interactions with other Service users are solely between you and such users. You agree that the Administrator will not be responsible for any loss or damage incurred as the result of any such interactions. If there is a dispute between you and any Service user, we are under no obligation to become involved.
8. The Service may contain links to third-party websites or resources and advertisements for third parties (collectively, "Third-Party Ads"). Such Third-Party Ads are not under the control of the Administrator and the Administrator is not responsible for any Third-Party Ads. The Administrator provides these Third-Party Ads only as a convenience and does not review, approve, monitor, endorse, warrant, or make any representations with respect to Third-Party Ads. Advertisements and other information provided by online properties to which the Third-Party Ads lead, may not be wholly accurate. You acknowledge sole responsibility for and assume all risk arising from your use of any such online properties. When you link to third-party online properties, the applicable service provider's terms and policies, including privacy and data gathering practices, govern. You should make whatever investigation you feel necessary or appropriate before proceeding with any transaction with any third party. Your transactions and other dealings with Third-Party Ads that are found on or through the Service, including payment and delivery of related goods or services, are solely between you and such third party.
9. You hereby release us, our officers, employees, agents, and successors from claims, demands, any and all losses, damages, rights, claims, and actions of any kind including personal injuries, death, and property damage, that is either directly or indirectly related to or arises from any interactions with or conduct of any Service users or any Third-Party Ads.

5. Posting of Announcements by Users

1. Users must provide the Administrator with any documents confirming the legitimacy of the posted announcements and identity documents upon request.
2. Users posting announcements regarding the sale of goods or services on the Platform must provide precise and complete information about these goods and services, including the terms and conditions of sale and service provision. The phone number associated with each announcement must be reachable, allowing the user to answer calls promptly. Failure to maintain an accessible and functional phone number may result in the temporary closure of the user's advertisements.
3. The terms and conditions of sale and service provision developed by the user must not conflict with these Terms or applicable laws.
4. The price of goods or services must be exact. Any circumstances that might lead to price changes should be mentioned in the announcement.
5. When uploading a YouTube video to your announcement via YouTube API Services, you agree to be bound by the YouTube Terms of Service.
6. When uploading a Facebook video to your announcement via Facebook Embedded Video & Live Player functionality, you agree to be bound by the Meta Platform Terms and Facebook Terms of Service.

6. Fees

1. The Platform is generally free.
2. You are eligible to register more than one Account if you use payable services on each of them.

7. User Representations and Warranties

By using the Service, you represent and warrant that:

1. You have the legal capacity and agree to comply with the Terms.
2. If you register as a representative of a legal entity, you are authorized by the company to enter into an agreement with us and with users of the Platform.
3. You are above 18 years of age.
4. You have provided true, accurate, and complete information in your Account.
5. You will update your Account information to maintain its truthfulness, accuracy, and completeness.
6. You will immediately change data for access to the Platform if you suspect your Account access details were disclosed or used by third parties.
7. You will notify the Administrator of any unauthorized access to your Account.
8. You will not provide false or misleading information about your identity or location in your Account.
9. You will use the Service in strict compliance with applicable laws, regulations, rules, and guidelines.
10. You will not use the Service for any illegal or unauthorized purpose.
11. You will not post announcements on the Platform offering for sale or exchange any Prohibited Items.
12. You will not post announcements on the Platform that infringe on another person’s rights or interests, including any intellectual property rights or other personal or proprietary rights of any third party.
13. You will not post announcements on the Platform that include:
    1. False, misleading, or deceptive statements;
    2. Personal or identifying information about minors or others without proper consent;
    3. Pornographic or overtly sexual materials;
    4. Depictions encouraging illegal or reckless use of weapons and dangerous objects or facilitating the purchase of firearms or ammunition;
    5. Defamatory, discriminatory, mean-spirited, threatening, harassing, improper, unacceptable materials, or vulgar or abusive language;
    6. Advocacy of hate, violence, discrimination, racism, xenophobia, or ethnic conflicts;
    7. Appeals to violence and unlawful actions;
    8. Offers of prostitution or other services contradicting moral or legal norms;
    9. Services prohibited by applicable law;
    10. Information of solely promotional nature with no offers of specific goods or services;
    11. Counterfeit and imitated goods or unauthorized copies, including goods acquired by illegal means, pirated, or stolen;
    12. Direct or indirect references to any other websites or information about websites competing with the Platform.
14. You will not use software or take any other actions aimed at interfering with the normal operation of the Platform.
15. You will not promote or distribute unsolicited commercial emails, chain letters, or Ponzi schemes through the Platform or by any other means towards other users of the Platform.
16. You will not copy, modify, or distribute any other User Content without the respective user’s consent.
17. You will not harvest or collect information about users, including email addresses and phone numbers, without their consent or otherwise violate another person’s privacy.
18. You will not download, store, post, distribute, provide access to, or use worms, viruses, trojans, and other malware.
19. You have a legal title to the items offered for sale in your announcement.
20. You have the necessary license or are otherwise authorized, as required by applicable law, to offer for sale, advertise, and distribute goods described in your announcement.

8. Indemnity 

You agree to indemnify and hold the Administrator, its successors, subsidiaries, affiliates, related companies, suppliers, licensors, partners, and their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, and representatives harmless from any claim or demand, including costs and attorneys’ fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of: (i) your use of the Platform; (ii) your User Content; (iii) your violation of any representation, warranty, covenant, or obligation stipulated in these Terms; (iv) your violation of any applicable law, industry standard, regulation, guideline, or rule; (v) any transaction entered into by you via the Platform or your violation of the terms of such transaction. The Administrator reserves the right, at your expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter for which you are required to indemnify us, and you agree to cooperate with our defense of these claims.

9. Limitation of Liability

1. In no event shall we (and our affiliates) be liable to you or any third party for any lost profit or any indirect, consequential, exemplary, incidental, special, or punitive damages arising from these terms or your use of, or inability to use, the service or third-party ads, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Access to, and use of, the service and third-party ads are at your own discretion and risk, and you will be solely responsible for any damage to your computing system or loss of data resulting therefrom.
2. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, you agree that the aggregate liability of the administrator to you for any and all claims arising from the use of the service or content of announcements is limited to the lesser of the amounts you have paid, if any, to us during the six (6) month period prior to any cause of action arising or ksh10,500.

10. Intellectual Property Rights

1. Information submitted to the Administrator as part of registration, along with any data, text, pictures, and other materials posted on the Platform ("User Content"), remains the intellectual property of the user. The Administrator does not claim ownership of the copyright or other proprietary intellectual property rights in such registration information and User Content. However, the Administrator may retain copies of all registration information and User Content and use such information as reasonably necessary for or incidental to the operation of the Service and as described in these Terms and the Privacy Policy.
2. You grant the Administrator a non-exclusive, worldwide, transferable, perpetual, irrevocable right to copy, modify, adapt, store, publish, distribute, publicly display and perform, communicate, and make available to the public the User Content in connection with the Service. This includes using and making the User Content public on affiliated websites and for the Administrator’s marketing, advertising, and other purposes.
3. You agree and represent and warrant that your use of the Service, or any portion thereof, will not infringe or violate the rights of any other party or breach any contract or legal duty to any other parties.
4. Materials on the Platform, except those posted by users, including but not limited to texts, software, scripts, graphics, photos, sounds, music, videos, interactive functions, etc. ("Materials"), and trademarks, service marks, and logos ("Marks"), belong to or are licensed by the Administrator. Any use of such Materials and Marks without prior notice from the Administrator is not allowed.
5. If you are a holder of intellectual property rights or a person authorized to act in the name of a holder of intellectual property rights and reasonably believe that information posted to the Platform infringes your intellectual property rights or the intellectual property rights of the person you represent, you may provide notification to the Administrator requesting the deletion of such material. In this regard, you must warrant that your appeal has a legal basis and that you act in good faith according to the law.
6. When providing relevant notification concerning infringement of rights, ensure your request follows the form below and includes the following:
   1. A physical or electronic signature of a person empowered to act in the name of the holder of the right, which is believed to be infringed;
   2. The objects of intellectual property right, rights on which were supposedly infringed. If several objects exist, provide the entire list;
   3. Specify materials (with specific URL-pages) that are stated to infringe rights or themselves are the objects of infringement;
   4. Provide contact information for the Administrator to contact you, such as address, phone number, and email address;
   5. A signed application regarding your good faith and reasonable belief that the materials being the object of the complaint concerning infringement of intellectual property rights are used without the right holder’s or its representative’s consent, and that this is not allowed by law;
   6. A signed application stating that the holder of intellectual property rights releases the Administrator from any third-party claims related to the deletion of relevant materials by the Administrator;
   7. A signed application declaring that the information contained in the notification is accurate under penalty of perjury and that you are authorized to act in the name of the holder of the exclusive right, which has been supposedly infringed;
   8. Statutory regulations that you believe to be violated in connection with the use of disputable content;
   9. The state in which you believe the rights to be infringed;
   10. Copies of documents establishing rights for an object of intellectual property right, which is subject to security, as well as a document confirming powers to act in the holder’s name, attached to your appeal.
7. Send the relevant notification to email [email protected].

11. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

1. These Terms shall be governed in accordance with the laws of Somalia.
2. Any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or in connection with this contract, or its breach, termination, or invalidity, shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the NCIA Arbitration Rules. The language to be used in the arbitral proceedings shall be Somali.

12. Miscellaneous Provisions

1. Except as otherwise provided, if any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, void, or for any reason unenforceable, such provision shall be struck out and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions.
2. We may transfer and assign any and all of our rights and obligations under these Terms to any other person, by any means, including by novation, and by accepting these Terms, you give us consent to any such transfer or assignment.
3. If we fail to take action with respect to your breach of these Terms, we are still entitled to use our rights and remedies in any other situation where you breach these Terms.
4. In no event shall the Administrator be liable for any failure to comply with these Terms to the extent that such failure arises from factors outside the Administrator's reasonable control.

13. Contact

If you want to send any notice under these Terms or have any questions regarding the Service, you may contact us at: [email protected] OR WhatsApp +252 63 8333854.