Legal Issues

Illegal Activities

Potential Issue: Users could use CalendarMedia to coordinate activities that violate laws (e.g., unpermitted gatherings, or worse).
Mitigation Strategies:

• Terms of Service: Draft clear terms prohibiting the use of CalendarMedia for illegal activities and specify that events violating local laws are grounds for removal.
• Event Reporting Feature: Allow users to report events they believe are illegal. This enables our team to review and, if necessary, remove these events quickly.
• Automated Flagging: Use keyword detection to automatically flag potentially concerning events for review. Keywords can include terms like "unauthorized," "unlicensed," or specific sensitive terms.

Copyright Infringement

Potential Issue: Users might upload copyrighted images, logos, or other materials without permission when creating events.
Mitigation Strategies:

• Content Upload Policy: Explicitly require users to have rights or permissions for all images and media they upload.
• Copyright Notice and DMCA Process: Include a clear copyright notice in our terms of service and establish a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown process for receiving and addressing copyright complaints.
• User Education: Include a warning when users upload content, reminding them not to use images they do not own or have the rights to.
• Allow for reporting of potential copyright violations.

Data Privacy and Security

Potential Issue: Users could accidentally or intentionally share sensitive information, which could be exploited.
Mitigation Strategies:

• Privacy Settings for Events: Allow users to make events private, friends-only, or public to control visibility. Encourage them to only share personal information with trusted contacts.
• User Education on Data Sharing: Provide guidance on safe sharing practices. When users create events, add reminders against sharing sensitive information (like private addresses, unless it's a public venue).
• Data Encryption and Secure Storage: Implement data encryption, especially for personally identifiable information. Use secure, compliant storage solutions to protect data.
• Access Control and User Verification: Verify user identities for higher-profile events or public gatherings to reduce the risk of fraudulent event creation.

Minor Privacy and Safety

Potential Issue: Social Media apps need to account for laws regaring minors and privacy, consent, and content safety. Mitigation Strategies:

• Age Restrictions: Setting a minimum age limit such as 13 or even 16.
• Enhanced Privacy Controls for Minors: Automatically set events created by users under 18 to "friends only" or "private" by default.
• Content Moderation: Use more stringent content moderation for events created by or intended for minors to prevent inappropriate interactions.

Third Party Software

• Python: Covered by PSFL. Permissive.
• Node.js: Covered by MIT license. Permissive.
• React: Covered by MIT license. Permissive.
• Flask: Covered by BSD-3-Clause License. Permissive.
• Docker: Using open-source community edition which is covered under the Apache 2.0 License. Permissive.
• MongoDB: Using only as an internal database so we are free to use it without making our app open-source. Covered under the Server Side Public License. Permissive.
• Pymongo: Covered by Apache 2.0 License. Permissive.