Abuse programme policies and enforcement
The content policies listed below play an important role in maintaining a positive experience for our users. We need to curb abuses that threatens our ability to provide this service and we ask that everyone abide by the policies below to help us achieve this goal.
These policies apply to Google Meet ('Meet'). When applying these policies, we may make exceptions based on educational, documentary, scientific or artistic considerations or where there are other substantial benefits to the users of the service. Be sure that you check back from time to time, as these policies may change. Please also refer to Google's Terms of Service for more information.
Report abuse
If you believe that someone is violating the policies found below, report abuse.
Google may disable your ability to use Meet or disable accounts that are found to be in violation of these policies. If your service has been suspended or your account has been disabled, and you believe it was a mistake, please follow these instructions on this page.
Programme policies
Child sexual abuse and exploitation
Don't use Meet to create, upload or distribute content that exploits or abuses children. This includes all child sexual abuse materials.
More broadly, Meet prohibits the use of our products to endanger children. This includes but isn't limited to predatory behavior towards children such as:
- ‘Child grooming’ (for example, befriending a child online to facilitate, either online or offline, sexual contact and/or exchanging sexual imagery with that child);
- ‘Sextortion’ (for example, threatening or blackmailing a child by using real or alleged access to a child’s intimate images);
- Sexualisation of a minor (for example, imagery that depicts, encourages or promotes the sexual abuse of children or the portrayal of children in a manner that could result in the sexual exploitation of children) and
- Trafficking of a child (for example, advertising or solicitation of a child for commercial sexual exploitation).
We will take appropriate action, which may include reporting to the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, limiting access to product features and disabling accounts. If you believe that a child is in danger of or has been subject to abuse, exploitation or trafficking, contact the police immediately.
Circumvention
Don't engage in actions intended to bypass our policies or subvert restrictions placed on your account. This includes the creation or use of multiple accounts or other methods intended to engage in a behavior that was previously prohibited.
Dangerous and illegal activities
Don't use Meet to promote, organise or engage in illegal activities or activities that cause serious and immediate physical harm to people or animals.
Fraud, phishing and other deceptive practices
Don't use Meet for phishing. Refrain from soliciting or collecting sensitive data, including but not limited to passwords, financial details and National Insurance numbers. Don't use Meet to trick, mislead or deceive other users into sharing information under false pretenses.
Don't impersonate another person or otherwise misrepresent yourself or the source of a Meet invitation or join request with the intent to deceive, mislead or defraud.
Harassment, bullying and threats
Don't harass, bully or threaten others. We also don’t allow this product to be used to engage or incite others in these activities. Remember that online harassment is illegal in many places and can have serious offline consequences for both the harasser and the victim. We may take appropriate action if we are notified of threats of harm or other dangerous situations, which may include reporting you to the relevant authorities.
Hate speech
Don't engage in hate speech. Hate speech is content that promotes or condones violence against or has the primary purpose of inciting hatred against an individual or group on the basis of their race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, age, nationality, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or any other characteristic that is associated with systemic discrimination or marginalisation.
Malware and similar malicious content
Don't transmit malware or any content that harms or interferes with the operation of the networks, servers, end user devices or other infrastructure. This includes the direct hosting, embedding, or transmission of malware, viruses, destructive code or other harmful or unwanted software or similar content. This also includes content that transmits viruses, causes pop-ups, attempts to install software without the user’s consent or otherwise impacts users with malicious code. See our Safe Browsing Policies for more information.
Personal and confidential information
Don't share or distribute other people’s personal or confidential information without authorisation. This includes the use of sensitive information, such as UK National Insurance numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, images of signatures and personal health documents. In most cases where this information is broadly available elsewhere on the Internet or in public records, like US national ID numbers listed on a government website, we generally don’t process enforcement actions.
Regulated goods and services
Don't sell, advertise or facilitate the sale of regulated goods and services. Regulated goods and services include alcohol, gambling, pharmaceuticals, unapproved supplements, tobacco, fireworks, weapons or health/medical devices.
Sexually explicit content
Don't share or distribute content that contains sexually explicit material, such as nudity, graphic sex acts and pornographic content. This includes driving traffic to commercial pornography sites. We allow content for educational, documentary, scientific or artistic purposes.
Spam
Don't spam. This may include unwanted promotional or commercial content, unwanted content that is created by an automated programme, unwanted repetitive content, nonsensical content or anything that appears to be a mass solicitation.
System interference
Don't abuse this product and don't harm, degrade or negatively affect the operation of networks, devices or other infrastructure. This includes degrading, disabling or negatively interfering with any aspect of the product or its services.
Terrorist content
Terrorist organisations aren't permitted to use this product for any purpose, including recruitment. We’ll also take action against Meeting organisers or participants for content related to terrorism, such as promoting terrorist acts, inciting violence or celebrating terrorist attacks.
Violence and gore
Don't share or distribute violent or gory content involving real-life people or animals that’s primarily intended to be shocking, sensational or gratuitous. This includes ultra-graphic violence, such as dismemberment or close-up footage of mutilated corpses. Graphic violence, such as content containing significant amounts of blood, may be allowed in an educational, documentary, scientific or artistic context but please be mindful to provide enough information to help people understand the context. In some cases, content may be so violent or shocking that no amount of context will allow that content to remain on our platforms. Lastly, don't encourage others to commit specific acts of violence.
