Terms of use of the Monithon platform

and rules for the publication of civic monitoring reports

Last updated: 23 June 2026

1. Introduction

These Terms of Use govern access to and use of the website and platform available at www.monithon.eu and any related subdomains (hereinafter, the “Website” or the “Platform”), operated by:

Monithon Europe ETS
Tax Code: 94083340581
Registered Office: Via Casal Bianco No. 352, 00012 Guidonia (Rome), Italy
Email: info@monithon.eu
Certified Email (PEC): monithon@pec.it

Monithon Europe ETS (“Monithon”) is a Third Sector organisation promoting civic monitoring, civic participation, transparency, open government, and the informed use of public data.

The Platform enables citizens, students, civic monitoring groups, universities, organisations, and other interested parties to contribute to the collection, analysis, and dissemination of information concerning projects financed with public funds, including through the preparation of civic monitoring reports.

By using the Platform, users accept these Terms of Use. Users who do not intend to accept these Terms are requested not to use the Platform or upload any content.

For information regarding the processing of personal data, please refer to the Privacy Policy published on the Website.

2. Definitions

For the purposes of these Terms, the following definitions apply:

Platform: the website www.monithon.eu and any related digital services operated by Monithon.

User: any person who accesses the Platform, browses the Website, registers an account, uploads content, or participates in activities promoted through the Platform.

Author: the user or group of users who prepares, uploads, or submits a civic monitoring report or any other content.

Civic Monitoring Report or Report: any document or content produced by users in the context of civic monitoring activities, including, where applicable, text, images, attachments, links, datasets, references to public sources, and supporting materials.

Content: any material uploaded, submitted, or published through the Platform, including reports, text, images, videos, links, documents, datasets, and similar materials.

Editorial Team: the group of individuals appointed by Monithon to carry out methodological and editorial review of Reports and other content intended for publication.

3. Scope of the Service

Subject to the functionalities available from time to time, the Platform enables users to:

register and create an account;
prepare and submit Civic Monitoring Reports;
upload text, images, documents, links, and other materials;
consult content published by Monithon or by other users;
access publicly available data sources through simplified and interactive tools;
contribute to the dissemination of information of civic and public interest.

The Platform is provided free of charge and is intended to promote transparency, civic participation, and the monitoring of public funding and public policies.

Monithon reserves the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue, in whole or in part, the Platform’s functionalities whenever necessary for technical, organisational, project-related, or security reasons.

4. Registration and User Accounts

Registration may be required in order to access certain features of the Platform.

Users undertake to provide accurate, up-to-date, and non-misleading information and to exercise due care in safeguarding their login credentials.

Users are responsible for all activities carried out through their accounts, unless they demonstrate that the account was used without authorisation and that such unauthorised use was not attributable to their conduct.

Monithon may suspend or disable accounts used in breach of these Terms, applicable law, the rights of third parties, or the civic purposes of the Platform.

Monithon may also suspend or restrict the accounts of users who, despite having received a prior warning, misuse the Platform, repeatedly upload content that is manifestly unlawful or contrary to these Terms, or repeatedly submit notices or requests for review that are manifestly unfounded or abusive. Any such suspension shall be imposed for a reasonable period of time, determined on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the number, proportion, and seriousness of the abusive conduct.

5. General Rules for Use of the Platform

Users undertake to use the Platform lawfully, fairly, and in a manner consistent with its purposes of civic monitoring and civic participation.

In particular, users agree not to upload, publish, or otherwise disseminate content that is:

false, manipulated, or knowingly misleading;
defamatory, offensive, discriminatory, threatening, or harmful to the dignity or reputation of individuals or organisations;
insufficiently related to the purposes of the Platform;
infringing intellectual property rights or any other rights of third parties;
containing personal data that are unnecessary or processed in violation of applicable law;
containing images or information relating to minors or special categories of personal data, unless strictly necessary and processed in compliance with applicable law;
contrary to applicable law, public policy, or accepted standards of public morality.

Users are also required to use appropriate, cautious, and respectful language, distinguishing, wherever possible, between observed facts, sources consulted, personal assessments, and requests for further investigation.

Monithon reserves the right to remove, suspend, or restrict the visibility of content that violates these Terms, informing the Author in accordance with the procedures set out in Article 13.

With respect to content published before the adoption of these Terms, Monithon may, either following a notice or as a result of internal review, assess whether updates, redaction, restricted visibility, or removal are necessary in order to protect personal data, the rights of third parties, or the consistency of the content with the purposes of the Platform.

6. Uploading Content and Author Responsibility

Users are solely responsible for the content they upload, submit, or publish through the Platform.

By uploading or submitting any content, the user represents and warrants that:

they are the author of the content or otherwise hold all rights necessary to upload it and permit its use in accordance with these Terms;
the content does not infringe the rights of any third party, including copyright, image rights, privacy rights, or personal data protection rights;
the information provided has been collected and presented in accordance with principles of accuracy, good faith, and reasonable verifiability;
any references to natural persons, organisations, companies, or public authorities are relevant to the purposes of civic monitoring.

The Author remains solely responsible for the substantive content of the Report, the information contained therein, and any assessments or conclusions expressed.

7. Methodological and Editorial Review

Reports and other content intended for publication may be subject to methodological and editorial review by Monithon’s Editorial Team.

Such review may include, by way of example:

consistency of the Report with the civic monitoring methodology;
clarity and readability of the content;
the presence of sources, references, or minimum supporting evidence;
the use of cautious and non-accusatory language;
the presence of unnecessary personal data or content that may potentially infringe the rights of third parties.

Monithon may request that the Author make amendments, additions, clarifications, or revisions.

Monithon may also decide not to publish, or to suspend or remove, content that is inconsistent with these Terms, the purposes of the Platform, or minimum standards of reliability, prudence, and fairness.

Methodological and editorial review is carried out in good faith with the aim of supporting Authors, ensuring the security of the Platform, and maintaining consistency with its civic objectives. Such review does not constitute systematic or general monitoring of content, nor does it amount to approval, certification, or validation of its substance.

The publication of a Report on the Platform does not imply that Monithon endorses the assessments, opinions, or conclusions expressed by the Author.

8. Monithon’s Role and Limitation of Liability

Monithon provides a civic and participatory platform and offers methodological, organisational, and editorial support.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Monithon accepts no liability for:

the completeness, accuracy, truthfulness, or timeliness of information provided by users;
the opinions, assessments, or conclusions expressed by Authors in their Reports;
any use made by third parties of content published on the Platform;
any damage resulting from exclusive reliance on content published by users.

Nothing in these Terms limits Monithon’s right to take action regarding content in the circumstances provided for herein, including in response to notices or substantiated requests, in accordance with the procedures set out in Article 13.

Monithon may keep records, including in aggregated form, of notices received and decisions taken concerning content, for the purpose of improving transparency, the quality of moderation, and the consistency of its editorial practices. Such activity does not give rise to any obligation to publish periodic reports, except where required by applicable law.

9. Personal Data in Reports

Users are required to limit the inclusion of personal data in Reports to cases that are strictly necessary and relevant to the purposes of civic monitoring.

In particular, except where strictly necessary and in compliance with applicable law, users shall avoid including:

unnecessary personal data relating to third parties;
private contact details;
irrelevant identifying images;
personal data relating to minors;
special categories of personal data within the meaning of Article 9 GDPR;
information likely to expose individuals to undue reputational or personal risks.

Wherever possible, users should prefer general descriptions, references to an individual’s role or position, or the use of anonymisation or pseudonymisation techniques.

Monithon may request the removal, amendment, or redaction of personal data contained in uploaded content.

For further information on the processing of personal data, please refer to the Privacy Policy.

10. Ownership of Content and Licence Granted to Monithon

Content uploaded by users, including Civic Monitoring Reports, shall remain the property of their respective Authors, unless otherwise provided by specific agreements applicable to particular projects or initiatives.

By submitting or uploading content to the Platform, the Author grants Monithon a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence, transferable only to the extent necessary for Monithon’s institutional and project-related activities, to:

publish and make the content available on the Platform;
archive and retain the content;
reproduce, adapt, format, summarise, or otherwise edit the content for editorial, methodological, or readability purposes;
disseminate the content through institutional channels, project materials, reports, training activities, communication initiatives, and research;
use the content for purposes consistent with Monithon’s institutional mission.

The licence shall remain in force for as long as the content is published or retained by Monithon for documentary, civic, project-related, or public interest purposes.

Where reasonably practicable, Monithon undertakes to acknowledge the Author or group of Authors of the content.

11. Licence Applicable to Published Content and Reuse by Third Parties

Unless otherwise indicated, content published on the Platform is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution–ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) licence.

This licence permits the reuse, sharing, and adaptation of the content, provided that:

appropriate attribution is given to the Author(s);
the source is clearly acknowledged;
any derivative works are distributed under the same licence or a compatible licence.

Any reuse of content by third parties is carried out under the sole responsibility of the person reusing it, in accordance with the applicable licence, applicable law, and the rights of third parties.

12. Reports Produced within Projects, Agreements, or Partner Activities

Where Reports are prepared in the context of projects, agreements, training activities, collaborations with universities, public or private bodies, or national or international partners, additional specific rules may apply.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing:

intellectual ownership of the Reports shall remain with their Authors;
Monithon shall retain the right to use the content in accordance with these Terms;
project partners shall not be responsible for the substantive content of the Reports, unless otherwise expressly agreed;
publication of a Report on the Platform shall not imply endorsement by, or the assumption of responsibility on the part of, the promoting organisations, funding bodies, or project partners.

Specific projects may be subject to additional rules concerning access to, dissemination, sharing, retention, and transmission of Reports, including where required by the applicable project documentation.

13. Notices, Complaints, Requests for Removal, and Review

Any person who believes that content published on the Platform is unlawful, inaccurate, inconsistent with these Terms, or infringes their own rights or those of third parties may submit a notice to:

redazione@monithon.eu

Where possible, the notice should include:

the content being challenged and the URL of the page on which it is published;
the grounds for the notice, described with sufficient precision;
the name and email address of the person submitting the notice;
a statement made in good faith confirming the accuracy and completeness of the information provided.

Monithon shall acknowledge receipt of the notice without undue delay and shall inform the person submitting the notice of the decision taken.

Monithon shall assess notices in a timely, diligent, objective, and non-arbitrary manner. Depending on the circumstances, Monithon may:

maintain the content online;
request clarifications or amendments from the Author;
make non-substantive technical or editorial changes, redact or restrict the visibility of parts of the content, or request that the Author make amendments or additions;
temporarily suspend publication of the content;
remove the content.

In assessing notices, Monithon shall take into account the civic nature of the Platform, the right to information, the protection of personal data, the rights of third parties, and the public interest in access to information.

Where content is removed, suspended, redacted, or its visibility is restricted, Monithon shall, where possible and unless prevented by legal obligations or security considerations, inform the Author of the decision, providing a concise explanation of:

the measure adopted and the content to which it relates;
the reasons for the decision, including reference to the relevant provision of these Terms or the applicable legal rule considered to have been violated;
the possibility of requesting a review of the decision, as described below.

The Author of content that has been removed, suspended, redacted, or not published may request a review of the decision by writing to redazione@monithon.eu and stating the grounds for the request.

Monithon shall examine the request within a reasonable period, in a non-discriminatory manner and under the supervision of appropriately qualified personnel. Where the request is well-founded, Monithon shall revoke or amend its decision and notify the interested party accordingly.

Requests for review must be submitted within six months of notification of the decision.

Notices and requests for review must be submitted in good faith. Monithon may suspend the handling of notices and requests for review submitted by persons who repeatedly file notices or requests that are manifestly unfounded or abusive, in accordance with Article 4 of these Terms.

14. Third-Party Services and External Links

The Platform may contain links to third-party websites, services, documents, or platforms.

Monithon is not responsible for the content, terms of use, or privacy policies of third-party websites or services.

The use of such services is governed exclusively by the terms and conditions established by their respective providers.

15. Intellectual Property Rights in the Platform

The name “Monithon”, its logo, trademarks, domain name, the structure of the Platform, institutional materials, templates, tools, methodologies, and the graphic and editorial elements developed by Monithon are the property of Monithon or of their respective rights holders.

Such elements may not be used, reproduced, or modified without prior authorisation, except where permitted by applicable law or by the relevant licence.

16. Amendments to the Terms

Monithon may amend these Terms at any time.

Any amendments shall be published on the Platform and shall become effective from the date of publication unless otherwise specified.

Users are encouraged to review the updated Terms periodically.

17. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms shall be governed by the laws of Italy.

Any dispute relating to the interpretation, validity, or application of these Terms shall fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the court having jurisdiction over the place where Monithon has its registered office, unless mandatory provisions of applicable law require otherwise.

18. Contact Information

For information regarding these Terms, please contact:

info@monithon.eu

For notices relating to published content, complaints, requests for removal, or requests for review, please contact: