Child Safety Standards

2. Prohibited Content & Behavior

The following content and conduct are strictly prohibited on Gayborhood. Violation of any of these prohibitions will result in immediate permanent account termination, reporting to NCMEC, and full cooperation with law enforcement:

• Child sexual abuse material (CSAM): Any imagery, video, audio, or other content that depicts, describes, or represents the sexual abuse or exploitation of a minor. This includes real, digitally altered, AI-generated, deepfake, and computer-generated imagery.
• Grooming: Any attempt to build a relationship with a minor for the purpose of sexual abuse or exploitation. This includes trust-building behaviors, isolating a child from their support network, desensitizing a child to sexual content or contact, and any other manipulative tactics directed at minors.
• Solicitation: Requesting, offering, arranging, or facilitating sexual contact or sexual communication with a minor, whether online or offline.
• Sextortion of minors: Threatening to create, share, or distribute intimate or sexual images of a minor in order to coerce, blackmail, extort, or exploit them.
• Trafficking: Any content, communication, or behavior that facilitates the trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation, or sale of minors.
• Sexualization of minors: Any content that sexualizes minors in any way, including fictional depictions, AI-generated content, deepfakes, illustrations, or any other medium.
• Sharing personal information of minors: Distributing, requesting, or collecting identifying information about minors with intent to exploit, contact, or harm them.
• Pretending to be a minor: Misrepresenting yourself as a minor on the platform for any reason whatsoever. This results in an immediate permanent ban with no exceptions.
• Communicating with a minor: Knowingly communicating with a minor, or with someone you believe to be a minor, through the platform.
• Distributing, possessing, or accessing CSAM: Using the platform to distribute, store, access, view, or share CSAM in any form.
• Arranging offline contact with minors: Using the platform in any way to arrange, facilitate, or plan offline meetings or contact with minors for any exploitative purpose.

3. Age Verification & Assurance

Gayborhood is designed exclusively for adults aged 18 and older. We employ multiple measures to prevent minors from accessing our platform:

• Minimum age requirement: All users must be at least 18 years old to create an account on Gayborhood. This requirement is non-negotiable.
• Date of birth verification: Users are required to provide their date of birth during registration. Accounts indicating an age below 18 are automatically rejected.
• Explicit 18+ age confirmation: During registration, users must affirmatively confirm that they are 18 years of age or older via a mandatory checkbox acknowledgment.
• Proactive detection of underage users: We employ proactive measures to detect suspected underage users post-registration, including behavioral signals, profile content analysis, and user reports.
• Immediate removal of suspected underage accounts: Any account suspected of belonging to a minor is immediately suspended and banned pending investigation.
• Right to request ID verification: Gayborhood reserves the right to request government-issued photo identification from any user to verify their age at any time. Failure to comply will result in account suspension.
• Continuous monitoring: We continuously monitor for age-related policy violations and update our age assurance methods as new technologies and best practices emerge.

4. Detection & Prevention Technologies

We deploy multiple layers of technology to proactively detect, prevent, and disrupt CSAE on our platform. We do not rely solely on user reports — all user-generated content is proactively scanned.

Hash Matching

All images and media uploaded to Gayborhood are scanned against known CSAM databases using industry-standard hash-matching technology. This includes both perceptual hashing (which detects visually similar variants of known CSAM, including cropped, resized, or color-altered versions) and cryptographic hashing (which identifies exact matches of known CSAM). Matches trigger immediate content removal, account termination, and reporting to NCMEC.

AI-Powered Content Moderation

All posts, comments, and user-generated content are screened in real time using advanced AI moderation models trained to detect CSAE-related content, including CSAM, sexualized content involving minors, and exploitation-related language. Flagged content is immediately escalated for review and action.

Behavioral Pattern Detection

We monitor for behavioral patterns associated with grooming and predatory conduct. This includes analyzing interaction patterns, communication frequency, and behavioral signals that are consistent with known grooming tactics and predatory behavior.

Text Analysis

Automated text analysis systems scan messages and content for indicators of grooming, sextortion, CSAM solicitation, child access language, and other exploitation-related communication patterns. This analysis operates across all text-based content on the platform.

Proactive Scanning

All user-generated content on Gayborhood is proactively scanned. We do not rely solely on user reports to identify CSAE. Our detection systems operate continuously and automatically across all content types.

Platform Design Safeguards

• 18+ age gate: Mandatory age verification at registration prevents minors from accessing the platform
• Reporting tools: Easy-to-access report buttons are available on every post, comment, message, and user profile
• Blocking tools: Users can immediately block any account that makes them feel unsafe

5. Human Review & Moderation

Technology alone is not sufficient. Human judgment is a critical component of our child safety program:

• Highest-priority review: All content flagged by automated systems or user reports as potential CSAE receives the highest priority in our review queue and is actioned as rapidly as possible.
• CSAE-trained moderation team: Our moderation team receives specialized training on identifying and responding to CSAM, grooming behaviors, sextortion, and other forms of child exploitation.
• Regular training updates: Moderators receive ongoing training on emerging threats, evolving tactics used by offenders, and the latest detection methods and best practices from organizations such as NCMEC, Thorn, and the Technology Coalition.
• Wellness support for moderation staff: We recognize the significant psychological toll of reviewing harmful content. We provide wellness support programs, including access to mental health resources and counseling, for moderation staff exposed to CSAE content.
• Trauma-informed moderation: Our moderation responses are trauma-informed, ensuring that interactions with reporters and potential victims are handled with sensitivity, care, and appropriate urgency.

6. How to Report CSAE

All reports related to child safety are treated with the highest priority and are reviewed as rapidly as possible. Reports are confidential — the reported user will not know who submitted the report.

7. How We Respond

When CSAE content or behavior is identified on our platform, we execute the following response protocol without delay:

8. Law Enforcement Cooperation

Gayborhood is committed to working closely with law enforcement to combat child sexual abuse and exploitation:

• Prompt response to legal requests: We respond promptly to valid legal process, including subpoenas, court orders, and search warrants related to CSAE investigations.
• Evidence preservation: We preserve evidence as required by law and in response to valid preservation requests from law enforcement.
• Local, national, and international cooperation: We cooperate with law enforcement agencies at all levels, including international agencies such as INTERPOL and Europol, to support cross-border CSAE investigations.
• Mandatory NCMEC reporting: We file CyberTipline reports with NCMEC as required by U.S. federal law (18 USC § 2258A) for all identified instances of apparent CSAM.
• Proactive referrals: We may proactively refer cases to law enforcement when we identify imminent risk to a child, even in the absence of a formal legal request.
• LGBTQ+ safety considerations: We are acutely aware that our users include LGBTQ+ individuals in jurisdictions where homosexuality may be criminalized. When escalating matters to law enforcement, we take care to do so only in contexts where it is safe for the individuals involved, and we prioritize the safety of LGBTQ+ users while fulfilling our legal obligations to protect children.

9. Industry Partnerships & Standards

Gayborhood is committed to aligning with and contributing to the broader ecosystem of child safety organizations and industry initiatives. We work with or align our practices to the standards set by:

• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC): We report to NCMEC’s CyberTipline and participate in their programs to combat CSAM distribution.
• Internet Watch Foundation (IWF): We align with IWF standards for identifying and removing CSAM and contribute to shared hash databases.
• WeProtect Global Alliance: We align our child safety framework with the WeProtect Model National Response and Voluntary Principles to Counter Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.
• Technology Coalition: We align with the Technology Coalition’s Voluntary Framework and Project Protect principles for industry-wide collaboration against CSAE.
• Thorn: We leverage tools, research, and best practices from Thorn to strengthen our detection and prevention capabilities.
• INHOPE Network: We support the INHOPE network of international hotlines for reporting and removing CSAM.
• Cross-platform intelligence sharing: We are committed to participating in shared hash databases and cross-platform intelligence-sharing initiatives to prevent offenders from migrating between platforms.

10. Transparency & Accountability

We hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards of child safety and are committed to transparency in our enforcement efforts:

• Transparency reports: We are committed to publishing regular transparency reports detailing CSAE enforcement actions, including the number of accounts terminated, reports filed with NCMEC, and content removed.
• Technology review: We regularly review and update our detection and prevention technologies to stay ahead of evolving threats and to adopt the most effective tools available.
• Threat intelligence: We stay informed about emerging threats, new tactics used by offenders, and developments in child safety research and technology.
• Industry engagement: We actively engage with child safety organizations, industry groups, and government bodies to share knowledge, learn best practices, and contribute to collective efforts against CSAE.
• Internal audits: We conduct regular internal audits of our child safety systems, processes, and policies to identify gaps and drive continuous improvement.
• Policy updates: This policy is reviewed and updated as needed to reflect new standards, technologies, legal requirements, and lessons learned.

11. Education & Awareness

Prevention starts with awareness. We are committed to educating our users and our team about the realities of child exploitation:

• User education: We educate our users about the signs of grooming, exploitation, and other predatory behaviors so they can recognize and report suspicious activity.
• Resources for users: We provide resources and guidance for users who encounter CSAE content or behavior, including how to report and where to seek help.
• Team training: Our entire team — including engineering, product, and leadership — receives training on the latest CSAE trends, tactics, and detection methods.
• Industry participation: We participate in industry initiatives, working groups, and conferences focused on combating child exploitation online.

12. Survivor Support Resources

If you or someone you know has been affected by child sexual abuse or exploitation, the following organizations provide confidential support and assistance:

13. Regulatory Compliance

Gayborhood’s child safety program is designed to comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including but not limited to:

• U.S. Federal Law (18 USC § 2258A): Mandatory reporting of apparent CSAM to NCMEC via the CyberTipline.
• COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act): We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13, and our platform is restricted to users aged 18 and older.
• UK Online Safety Act: Compliance with obligations to protect children from harmful content and to conduct risk assessments for child safety.
• EU Digital Services Act (DSA): Compliance with obligations related to illegal content removal, transparency reporting, and systemic risk assessment for the protection of minors.
• State-level child protection laws: Compliance with applicable state laws regarding child safety, mandatory reporting, and online protection of minors.