Any legal subject can be taught on ACADA. This is the list of content that cannot be, anywhere, however it was made: anything sexual involving a child; intimate images shared without consent; threats, terrorist material and violence celebrated; hateful content aimed at people for who they are; encouragement of self-harm; pornography; instructions for hurting people or for making explosives, illegal weapons, poisons or drugs; real violence shared for its own sake; and illegal goods and services. It comes down the moment a person confirms it. The worst closes the account the same day and is reported to the authorities; the rest follows the enforcement ladder.
This summary is for orientation only. The sections below are the operative terms.
1. What this covers
This policy is the complete list of content that ACADA L.L.C., a Tennessee limited liability company (ACADA, we), does not allow on acada.ac. It applies to everything anyone puts here: courses, lessons and their files, thumbnails, rooms and their names, messages, reviews, submissions, press articles, and profiles, including usernames, pictures and bios. It applies however the content was made, by hand, by camera or by AI, and a fake counts as the real thing.
It is about content, not subjects. The Community Guidelines say any legal topic is allowed, and that stays true; what follows is a list of things, not themes. We do not scan uploads or read messages looking for them. We act on what is reported and on what we see, and section 10 says how fast.
2. Children
The rule. No sexual content involving anyone under 18: photographed, filmed, drawn, written, generated or edited, whether or not a real child was involved in making it. No content that sexualises a child, and no seeking contact with a child for a sexual purpose. Collecting a child's personal details is dealt with under Age & Child Safety.
Example of a violation. A drawn image of a child in a sexual pose posted in a room; a message asking a 15-year-old student for photos or to move the conversation to another app.
Consequence. Removed the moment a person confirms it, the account closed the same day, and the material reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, as United States law requires and Age & Child Safety sets out.
3. Intimate images without consent
The rule. No nude, partially nude or sexual image or video of a person shared without that person's consent, whether it was taken with consent and shared without it, taken secretly, or made or altered to look like them. A deepfake is the same as the real thing.
Example of a violation. A former partner's photos posted in a room; an AI-generated nude "of" an instructor, posted as a review image.
Consequence. Removed on confirmation and the account closed the same day, as publishing someone's private material does under Account Enforcement & Appeals.
4. Threats, incitement and extremism
The rule. No threat to hurt a person, and no encouraging others to hurt a person or a group. No content produced by or for an organisation the United States designates as terrorist, no recruiting for one, and no celebrating an act of terrorism or mass violence or whoever committed it. No real footage or images of death, serious injury or cruelty to an animal shared for its own sake.
What stays allowed. History, journalism and teaching about extremism, war and crime, primary material included, when the purpose is plainly to inform; and graphic material in a medical, forensic, journalistic, historical or safety-training context, behind the content warning the Course Content Policy describes.
Example of a violation. "Someone should visit her house" with a student's address; a lesson that reposts a terrorist group's recruitment video without comment; a clip of a fatal accident posted in a room for shock.
Consequence. A threat to a person, terrorist material, and the celebration of mass violence close the account the same day, and a credible threat to a life or of mass violence is reported to law enforcement. Graphic material shared for its own sake is removed and follows the ladder in section 10.
5. Hateful content
The rule. No content that calls for violence against, dehumanises, or calls for the exclusion of people because of their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age or immigration status, and no slurs for those groups used as attacks. Criticism of a religion, an ideology, a government or a practice is allowed, and so is a position on any of them most people find offensive: the line is people, not ideas.
Example of a violation. A lesson describing an ethnic group as vermin; a room message saying members of a religion should be driven out of the country.
Consequence. The content is removed and the ladder in section 10 follows; where it is also a threat, section 4 applies.
6. Self-harm
The rule. No content that encourages, instructs or glamorises suicide, self-injury or an eating disorder, or presents any of them as a goal or a method. Your own experience, recovery, prevention, medicine, journalism and teaching about these subjects are all allowed.
Example of a violation. A "thinspiration" collection in a room; a message telling someone in distress how to hurt themselves.
Consequence. The content is removed and the ladder in section 10 follows. If you believe a member is in immediate danger, contact the emergency services where they are; we cannot do that for you. Then report the message with the reason "Self-harm or suicide", and a person reads it within 1 business day.
7. Sexually explicit content
The rule. No pornography, no sexually explicit images, video or writing, no sexual services, and no soliciting sex, whether or not it is legal where you are. Sex education, anatomy, medicine, reproductive health and art are allowed, including nudity, when the material is not sexual.
Example of a violation. An explicit video in a lesson; a profile offering paid "private sessions". An anatomy course is not a violation.
Consequence. The content is removed, or the course unlisted until it is fixed, and the ladder in section 10 follows. A child is section 2; a real person without consent is section 3.
8. Instructions for harm
The rule. No content whose purpose is to help someone hurt, rob, defraud, stalk or break into the property or systems of others. And no instructions likely to cause serious physical harm even to a willing reader: making explosives or incendiary devices; making, converting or printing a firearm where that is illegal, or removing a serial number; making poisons, toxins or chemical or biological agents; synthesising controlled drugs; and dangerous challenges.
What stays allowed. How locks work, but not how to get into a building you have no right to enter; testing systems you are authorised to test, but not a bank's; chemistry, pharmacology, licensed gunsmithing, harm reduction, first aid and safety training, when the purpose is plainly to inform and not to enable.
Example of a violation. A lesson on converting a rifle to automatic fire; a course on phishing a named company's staff; a step-by-step synthesis of a controlled drug.
Consequence. The content is removed, or the course unlisted until it is fixed, and the ladder in section 10 follows.
9. Illegal goods and services
The rule. No selling, buying, sourcing, advertising or arranging: controlled drugs and the equipment to make them; weapons, ammunition, explosives and weapon parts you may not sell; counterfeit goods and currency; stolen data, credentials, cards and accounts; cracked software, licence keys and tools that defeat copy protection; sexual services; human trafficking, forced labour, or the sale of a person or an organ; and anything else it is illegal to sell where you or the buyer are. Malware is under the Acceptable Use Policy, scams under Fraud & Scams, and a counterfeit that uses a brand is also under the Trademark policy.
Example of a violation. A room message offering a list of stolen card numbers; a course that ships with a cracked copy of the software it teaches; a profile link to a shop selling counterfeit sneakers.
Consequence. The content is removed and the ladder in section 10 follows; selling stolen data or credentials is fraud and closes the account at once.
10. How we enforce this
- Removal. Prohibited content comes down the moment a person confirms it, and the member is told what was removed and why.
- At once. Sections 2 and 3, a threat to a person, terrorist material and the celebration of mass violence, and selling stolen data close the account the day we confirm it, under the list in section 5 of Account Enforcement & Appeals.
- The ladder. Everything else follows that policy: a written warning, then restrictions, then closure of the role or the account. A course is unlisted until it is fixed where the fix is a lesson, and removed where the course itself is the violation.
- Speed. A report is reviewed within 3 business days; a report under section 2, 3 or 6, of a threat to a person, or of a scam in progress, within 1 business day. That policy owns those numbers.
- The authorities. Content under section 2 goes to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children; a credible threat to a life, or of mass violence, goes to law enforcement. In both cases we keep the material and the account's records for 12 months, as United States law requires, and provide them on lawful request.
- Appeals. Every decision can be appealed under Account Enforcement & Appeals.
11. Reporting prohibited content
Use the Report button on the course, profile, message, review or submission and choose the reason that fits: "Prohibited content", "Violence, threats or hate", "Self-harm or suicide", "Child safety", or "Scam or fraud". Where there is no Report button, or you are not a member, write to support@acada.ac with a link; for a child-safety concern, choose that subject on the contact form. We tell you when your report has been handled, not what we did.
12. Changes to this policy
When we change this policy, we change the date shown at the top. If a change adds a rule or a consequence, we post a notice in the app at least 14 days before it takes effect.
13. Related policies
- Community Guidelines: any legal topic is allowed, and how to treat people in shared spaces.
- Age & Child Safety: protections for accounts under 18, and what we report.
- Account Enforcement & Appeals: the ladder, the at-once list, report timings, and appeals.
- Course Content Policy: content warnings, harmful files and sensitive data in courses.
- Acceptable Use Policy: malware, attacks and misuse of ACADA's systems.
- Fraud & Scams: scams, phishing and deceptive offers.
- Copyright & DMCA: content that copies someone's work.
- Trademark: counterfeits and misuse of a brand.
- AI Content Policy: AI-made content is held to the same rules.
- Privacy Policy: what we disclose to the authorities, and when we tell you.
- Terms of Service: the agreement this policy is part of, governing law, disputes and the limits of our liability.