Yandex Zen Terms of Use

This document is a translation of the document located at: https://yandex.ru/legal/zen_termsofuse into English. In the event of a conflict between the Russian version of this document and this translation, the Russian version shall prevail. Only the version of this document located at https://yandex.ru/legal/zen_termsofuse is legally binding.

1. Zen.Platform LLC ("Yandex"), a company incorporated under the laws of the Russian Federation, registered at 82, Sadovnicheskaya str., Building 2, Office 4А29, Moscow, Russia 115035, hereby offers the Internet user ("User"), to use the Yandex Zen service ("Service") to view personal recommendations (feeds) for Internet links that are collected using automatic indexing of publicly available information ("Links") and to view information uploaded to the Service by Users, based on the interests and browsing history of the User, and the use of other functions of the Service. The User may access the Service via the following methods including, but not limited to: the Service’s website, Yandex’s or Yandex Affiliates’ [1] mobile and desktop applications that allow access to the Service and its functions, or services or software offered by Yandex’s third-party partners that allow access to the Service and its functions. The Service is offered in accordance with these Terms of Use ("Terms").

2. General Provisions

2.1. Use of the Service by the User is governed by these Terms, which are a legally binding agreement between Yandex and the User.

2.2. Upon using the Service, or any of its separate functions, the User is considered to have accepted these Terms and as well as the terms of the documents indicated in clauses 2.3 and 2.4. of these conditions in full, without any reservations or omissions. If the User does not agree with any of the provisions of the Terms, the User may not use the Service.

2.3. Any matters related to the User's registration and authorization or operation of the User's account shall be governed by the instrument available at: https://yandex.com/legal/rules.

2.4. Relations stemming from the processing of information needed to provide the Service and information the User provides independently, when he/she signs up further or uses the Service, are governed by the Privacy Policy available at: https://yandex.com/legal/confidential.

For any questions related to Yandex processing User Information, please contact: zen@support.yandex.com.

3. Use of the Service and its Particular Functions

3.1. The Service is available to Users who have the legal capacity to accept these Terms and are of sufficient age, as may be required under the laws of the country of their citizenship or residence, to use the Service.

3.2. Yandex may, at its sole discretion, block or delete a User's account or restrict the User’s access to the Service (or certain functions of the Service) in the event of repeated violations of these Terms, or may take other appropriate actions pertaining to the User to comply with legal requirements, third-party rights and legitimate interests.

3.3. The Links lead to webpages or websites on the Internet created by third parties. Yandex disclaims any and all responsibility for the quality or content posted on such webpages or websites. Indexation of the Links is performed automatically using certain algorithms that do not imply any prior or subsequent evaluation of website content (moderation) regarding its compliance thereof with legal, ethical or moral requirements, as well as any censorship. Yandex is not responsible for the availability of websites, or the absence of content or the quality of any offers for services, products, etc. available to the User through third-party websites indexed by Yandex, or for any losses incurred by the User from utilizing such offers.

3.4. The Service makes it functionally possible for the authorized User, subject to additional sign-up, to post information on the Service and export the information to index and subsequently post it on the Service in the format specified at: http://yandex.ru/support/zen/publishers/publication.html#requirements, hereinafter referred to as User Information) and distribute User Information as well as edit and delete User Information he or she posted. The User understands and agrees that the User Information posted on the Service may be also posted, in whole or in part, with or without indication of the User, on other Yandex services and software applications, and may be available to third parties on the basis of terms of use of the relevant services, including, but not limited to, Yandex.Efir in accordance with the Terms of Use of Yandex.Efir https://yandex.ru/legal/efir_termsofuse, Yandex.Music in accordance with the Terms of Use of Yandex.Music https://yandex.ru/legal/music_termsofuse, and KinoPoisk in accordance with the Terms of watching of the paid content on KinoPoisk Service https://www.yandex.ru/legal/kinopoisk_vod. The User is held solely liable to third parties for his or her actions taken to post and distribute User Information on the Service, inter alia, for the content of User Information meeting the requirements of applicable laws and respecting the rights and legitimate interests of third parties. The User understands and agrees that User Information should not violate the copyright, rights to trademarks, means of individualization, and/or intellectual rights vested in third parties. The User undertakes to settle all third-party claims arising from posting (editing) User Information independently and at own expense. In the event of a dispute, the burden of proving that User Information the User posted does not interfere with anyone's rights lies on such User.

The Service enables the authorized User to comment on information available on the Service. The User’s comments (except for the publication format requirements) will be subject to User Information requirements of cl. 3.4-3.7 of these Terms and requirements posted at http://yandex.com/support/zen/publishers/publication.html#requirements.

User Information posted in the Service and published user comments may be accompanied by the account image (profile photo) and user name the User indicated when registering his or her Yandex account.

3.5. The User acknowledges and agrees that Yandex is not obliged to review User Information posted by the User on the Service and that Yandex may (but is not obliged to), at its own discretion, refuse to post and/or distribute User Information or delete any User Information posted by the User on the Service, inter alia, if it is notified by any public body that User Information may violate the applicable laws.

3.6. When using the Service, the User may not post and distribute, inter alia, the following User Information:

3.6.1. is illegal, harmful, libelous, purposefully misleading or unethical; demonstrates or incites violence, hatred and/or racial, ethnic, sexual, religious or social discrimination; is insulting towards any persons and/or organizations; contains elements of (or promotes) pornography and child erotic materials; advertises or promotes sexual services (including under the guise of other services); or describes the process of manufacturing, application or other use of drugs and similar substances, explosives or other weapons;

3.6.2. violates any copyright, trademark, identification and/or any other intellectual property rights held by any third parties;

3.6.3. any information misleading Users into believing that posted User Information and / or the User's account belong to Yandex and / or Service administration, inter alia, by using trademarks and logos belonging to Yandex and using the notations “Дзен”, “Zen”, “Dzen”, “Yandex.Zen”, etc.;

3.6.4. contains spam (including spamdexing), lists of e-mail addresses of other people, pyramid schemes, multilevel marketing (MLM), Internet earning systems and e-mail businesses or chain letters;

3.6.5. contains illegally obtained information about third parties;

3.6.6. violates advertising and/or competition laws;

3.6.7. contains viruses or other computer codes, files or programs designed to breach, alter, block, destroy or limit the operation of any computer or telecommunication equipment; or software for unauthorized access; or serial numbers to commercial software and generation programs, logins, passwords and other means to obtain unauthorized access to the Website and fee-based online resources;

3.6.8. meets the criteria described at: http://yandex.ru/support/zen/publishers/publication.html#requirements.

3.7. By posting User Information on the Service, the User automatically, irrevocably and unconditionally grants to Yandex, on a free-of-charge basis, a non-exclusive license to use, at Yandex discretion, User Information in full or in part (including the separate use of the audio track of an audiovisual work) anywhere around the world for a period the same remains posted on the Service, including, without limitation, to reproduce, copy, select, systemize, transform, alter, edit, translate and in other way modify, publish, disseminate User Information by any lawful means or to disclose it and make it available for the public. Further, by posting User Information on the Service, the User confirms that he/she has all requisite rights and authority to grant to Yandex the afore-mentioned rights to use any posted User Information. The User agrees that Yandex may use any User Information posted on the Service in any advertising and promotional materials published on Yandex resources on the Internet in order to attract new users to the Service or other services or resources of Yandex, provided that Yandex shall have the right to use the respective User Information either with or without reference to the name of its author (in the latter case, Yandex will indicate the name of the User who posted such User Information which he/she entered upon registration or additional registration). Yandex may assign the rights specified in this clause to third parties, including other users of the Service, and authorize them, including access, downloading, modifying, reproducing, publishing, transmitting, creating derivative works, and otherwise using your User Information in any format and on any platform. If the User is not entitled to grant to Yandex the right to use any of the materials within User Information by the afore-mentioned means, he/she shall not post such materials on the Service.

3.8. The Service makes it possible for the authorized User to view and adjust a personal page with information about the User and his or her activities in the Service (hereinafter referred to as the User's Public Profile). The User's Public Profile may contain the profile photo and user name as well as (depending on settings the User chose) information about interests of the User, existing subscriptions and friends, activities (posted comments, User Information, ratings, etc.) in the Service.

3.8.1. The User is notified and agrees that the information posted by him on the Service, including information published in the User's Public Profile and/or specified in the comments, becomes available to general public solely for the purpose of providing the Service and personalizing Users. The information published by the User (including personal data) is not intended for its collection and further dissemination by third parties.

3.9. When posting advertising materials as part of User Information, the User shall:

3.9.1. disclose the advertising nature of such information in the manner defined by Yandex or otherwise identify such information as an advertisement by any means available to the User;

3.9.2. be fully responsible for compliance with advertising and competition laws;

3.9.3. disclose to the public all details of the advertised item as provided for in advertising laws, including, without limitation, age restrictions, warnings and references to the person(s) that provide(-s) the respective services.

3.10. If any posted User Information meets Yandex's viewership requirements, Yandex may (but is not obliged to) suggest such User sign a separate agreement in respect of placement of Yandex or third party advertising materials within or close to such User Information. Yandex, at its sole discretion, shall define the above terms which the User shall comply with in order to enter into such agreement.

3.11. Yandex does not guarantee and disclaims any responsibility for the continuous, interruption-free availability of the Service. The User understands that the availability of the Service largely depends on the User’s internet-connection, computer, mobile phone or other hardware devices as well as the chosen provider subscription.

3.12. The User shall use the Service solely for the purposes set out herein.

3.13. The User shall not undertake any actions which might interfere with the normal functioning of the Service or any actions to override restrictions established by the Service, in particular, any actions aimed at expanding the number of User Information views, including, but not limited to, the use of any automatic displays or clicks (multiple clicks, agent software, etc.). For the avoidance of doubt, if the User interferes with the normal functioning of the Service, Yandex will not be liable for any malfunctions of the Service caused by such interference.

3.14. The User shall be solely responsible for complying with any applicable laws when using the Service, including the laws of the Russian Federation, the laws of the User’s place of residence, and the place where the User undertakes any legally relevant action under these Terms. If the use of any of the Service’s features leads to a breach of any applicable law(s) by the User, the User shall cease using the Service.

3.15. Yandex may provide the Service under the name of “Yandex Zen” or any other name chosen from time to time. Notwithstanding the name under which the Service is offered, the User shall not modify or remove the name of the Service (if this is possible), any copyright notices or other notices of intellectual property rights, or any other designations of Yandex and/or its partners.

3.16. If the User accesses the Service via Yandex’s third-party partner services or software that allow access to the Service or its functions, such third-party partners may provide additional services and/or features to the User. The User understands and agrees that the terms and conditions for using any such third-party services and/or features are determined by Yandex’s third-party partners, and that the User shall review and accept such terms and conditions before beginning to use such third-party services and/or features. In any such event, the User will enter into a direct contract with the respective third-party partners and not with Yandex. Yandex therefore expressly disclaims any and all warranties and liability to and before the User in relation to such additional services and/or features, including any information available via such third-party services and/or features.

3.17. The User hereby understands and agrees that all copyrights, patents, trademarks, know-how any and other intellectual property rights related to the Service are owned by Yandex and/or other right holders. For the avoidance of doubt, by accessing the Service, the User will not receive any ownership in Yandex’s intellectual property rights, but only a right to use them, which is minimally necessary for the User to use the Service in accordance with these Terms.

3.18. If you would like to submit a notice of an alleged copyright infringement related to the provision of the Service, please follow the instructions available at https://yandex.com/legal/zen_copyright_complaint. For all other questions and claims relating to the use of, or the inability to use the Service, and possible infringement by the Service on the law and/or third-party rights, please submit all such questions or claims to zen@support.yandex.com.

3.19. The Service provides the authorized User with the ability to send messages to other Users through the functionality of the Yandex.Messenger service built into the Service, provided on the terms published at https://yandex.ru/legal/messenger_termsofuse.

The User can restrict the function of receiving messages from other Users in the Yandex.Messenger settings.

For Users who have completed additional registration and post the User Information, the function of sending and receiving messages is disabled by default. If necessary, the User can enable this function in the settings of the personal page in the Service.

3.20. The User provides the following documents and information about himself, including his personal data:

a passport photo (the broadside with a photo and registration data)
a photo of the User with a passport

3.21. Necessary information and documents are provided by the User in the manner and format provided by the Service. The composition and completeness of the required information and documents may be changed at the discretion of the Service. An up-to-date list of required information and documents can be found in the Appendix.

3.22. The documents and information specified in cl. 3.20 are sent for verification, the results of which are sent to the User with the information about providing access to full functionality of the Service (registration in the Service) or the inability to provide access to full functionality of the Service (refusal to register in the Service).

3.23. Yandex reserves the right at any time to require the User to confirm the data they provide within the Service, including personal data, and to request in this regard confirmation of the User's identity by providing supporting documents (in particular, identity documents), failure to provide which, at the discretion of Yandex, may be equated with the provision of false information and may result in consequences provided for in cl. 3.2 of these Terms.

3.24. Yandex gives the User an opportunity to use, free of charge, audio recordings from the Music Library of the Service for the creation of User information (including video clips). Music from the Music Library is available in the corresponding tab "Music Library" of the "Editor" section of the User's Public Profile. The User may download and use music from the Music Library only to create User information posted on the Yandex Services. The User may not reproduce, perform, distribute, process, or otherwise use music from the Music Library, separately from the User Information and/or to create content for the purpose of placing it on other sites.

3.25. When creating and uploading short video clips to the Service (hereinafter, the "Clip"), the User has the right to use the audio track from other Users' Clips. The User may place Clips containing audio tracks from other Users' Clips solely on the Service and other Yandex services. The User may not copy, reproduce, perform, distribute, modify, or otherwise use audio tracks from other Users' Clips separately from the the Clips and/or as part of any other User information or content.

By creating and uploading Clips to the Service, the User agrees that any other User has the right to use the audio track from such Clips to create their own Clips. From the moment of posting the Clip on the Service, the User grants all Users of the Service a non-exclusive, royalty-free and irrevocable license to use the audio track from the Clip, including by reproducing, copying, processing, including it in a complex object - the Clip of another User, and further use as part of a complex object. The User grants a license to use the audio track from the Clip for the term of the presence of their Clip on the Service and agrees that other Users using the audio track from their Clip may also grant a similar license (sublicense) to use such sound track as part of other Users' Clips.

3.26. Yandex gives the User an opportunity to download Clips to their device. When downloading Clips the User agrees to comply with applicable law and the rights of third parties, including the copyrights of other Users to the Clips. The User shall be solely responsible to third parties for its actions in connection with downloading the Clips and using them after downloading.

4. Modification and Termination of These Terms

4.1. These Terms may be modified by Yandex at any time. Any new version of the Terms will be placed online on the webpage specified herein. The version of the Terms currently in effect is always located at https://yandex.com/legal/zen_termsofuse. By continued use of the Service, User will be deemed to have agreed to the new version of the Terms. If the User does not agree, the User must cease using the Service.

4.2. Yandex may terminate these Terms if the User breaches these Terms or if Yandex terminates the User’s access to the Service under Section 3.2 of these Terms.

4.3. The User may stop using the Service at any time. If the User stops using the Service, Yandex may continue processing User Information under the terms stipulated by the Privacy Policy (https://yandex.com/legal/confidentialconfidential).

5. Disclaimer of Warranties

5.1. THE USER HEREBY UNDERSTANDS AND AGREES THAT THE USE OF THE SERVICE AND THE LINKS IS AT THE USER’S OWN RISK, AND THAT THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS-IS" AND "AS-AVAILABLE" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT ALLOWED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

5.2. THE USER AGREES TO USE THE SERVICE AND THE LINKS AT HIS OR HER OWN DISCRETION AND RISK, AND SHALL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO THE USER’S COMPUTER, MOBILE DEVICE OR ANY OTHER DEVICE, OR ANY LOSS OF DATA CAUSED BY SUCH USE.

5.3. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT ALLOWED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, YANDEX HEREBY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, IN RELATION TO THE SERVICES AND THE LINKS, OR THE THIRD-PARTY CONTENT POSTED ON WEBSITES INDICATED IN SUCH LINKS.

6. Indemnification

6.1. The User shall, at his or her own effort and expense, defend, indemnify and hold harmless Yandex, Yandex’s Affiliates, their respective employees and contractors against any and all claims, suits and/or complaints by third parties raised against Yandex due to the User’s actions during the course of using the Service, and compensate for any damages and losses (including but not limited to reasonable attorneys’ fees) caused by such claims, suits and/or complaints.

7. Limitation of Liability

7.1. THE USER HEREBY UNDERSTANDS AND AGREES THAT, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT ALLOWED BY APPLICABLE LAW, YANDEX, YANDEX’S AFFILIATES, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE EMPLOYEES AND CONTRACTORS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO THE USER (WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY) FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR OTHER DAMAGES THAT THE USER MAY SUFFER RELATED TO THE USE OF THE SERVICE, OR THE LINKS AND THE THIRD-PARTY CONTENT RELATED THERETO, INCLUDING LOSS OF DATA, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YANDEX, YANDEX AFFILIATES, THEIR RESPECTIVE EMPLOYEES AND CONTRACTORS OR THEIR REPRESENTATIVES WERE ADVISED OF, OR COULD HAVE FORESEEN SUCH DAMAGES.

7.2. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT ALLOWED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF LOSSES THAT YANDEX, YANDEX AFFILIATES, THEIR EMPLOYEES AND CONTRACTORS MAY HAVE TO PAY TO THE USER, AND ANY OTHER LIABILITY OF THE SPECIFIED ENTITIES TO THE USER IN RELATION TO THE SERVICE OR THE LINKS, SHALL NOT EXCEED 1000 RUSSIAN RUBLES.

8. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

8.1. These Terms (including any issues regarding their validity, performance or termination) shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms shall be referred to and finally resolved by a court of competent jurisdiction in accordance with applicable law. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in these Terms shall be construed as preventing Yandex from claiming injunctive remedies (or other similar immediate remedies) in a competent court of any jurisdiction.

9. Other Provisions

9.1. These Terms are the full legally binding agreement between the User, on the one hand, and Yandex, on the other hand, in relation to their subject matter, and replace any previous agreements or understandings, written or oral, with regard to such subject matter.

9.2. If any court of law, having jurisdiction to decide on this matter, rules that any provision of these Terms is invalid, then that provision shall be deemed removed from these Terms without affecting the rest of these Terms, which will continue to be valid and enforceable in full.

9.3. These Terms are drafted and shall be construed in the Russian language. In the event of contradictions between the text of these Terms in English and its translation, the Russian version shall prevail.

9.4. Yandex may transfer and assign any of its rights and obligations under these Terms, as well as assign them to third parties without the User’s consent. The User may not transfer or assign any of its rights and obligations under these Terms, nor grant access to its user account, or delegate them to third parties without Yandex’s consent.

[1] Yandex’s Affiliates are legal entities listed in Exhibit 8.1 to the Yandex N.V. Annual Report for Foreign Private Issuers, prepared in accordance with the requirements of the NASDAQ communications system, as well as all legal entities: 1) which directly or indirectly hold more than 50% of shares of Yandex; 2) where more than 50% of shares in the authorized capital are held, directly or indirectly, by Yandex; 3) where more than 50% of shares in the authorized capital or stock are held, directly or indirectly, by an entity which directly or indirectly holds more than 50% of shares of Yandex; or 4) which are entitled to make management decisions with respect to Yandex, or with respect to which Yandex is entitled to make management decisions. The report is available at http://ir.yandex.com/sec.cfm.

Date of publication: 02.06.2022

Effective date: 03.06.2022

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