Acceptable Use Policy

We specialise in verticals that mainstream networks restrict. That specialisation works only because the line between restricted and prohibited is clear and enforced. This is that line.

01 Purpose and Scope

This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") applies to every advertiser, publisher, agency, and reseller using the D4RKW3B network, and to every creative, landing page, offer, website, application, and traffic source connected to it. It forms part of the Terms of Service. Where this AUP is stricter than local law, this AUP applies. Where local law in a targeted jurisdiction is stricter than this AUP, local law applies and it is the advertiser's responsibility to comply with it.

02 Review Principles

Every campaign and every publisher property is reviewed by a member of our compliance team before it goes live, and again whenever a material change is detected. Reviews apply four tests:

1. Legality. Is the product or service lawful to offer and advertise in each targeted jurisdiction, and does the advertiser hold any licence that jurisdiction requires?
2. Honesty. Do the creative and landing page describe the product accurately, without fabricated claims, fake endorsements, or deceptive design?
3. Audience. Will the ad reach only users who are legally permitted to see it, with appropriate age and geographic controls?
4. Safety. Does the ad or site expose users to malware, unauthorised data collection, or financial harm?

An offer that passes all four tests is eligible to run, regardless of whether other networks would accept it. An offer that fails any one of them is not, regardless of how well it performs.

03 Prohibited Content

The following may not be advertised, promoted, linked to, or hosted on inventory connected to the network under any circumstances. There are no exceptions and no appeals for this section.

• Child sexual abuse material, sexualised depictions of minors, or content that presents adults as minors in a sexual context.
• Non-consensual intimate imagery, content produced through coercion or trafficking, or content depicting sexual violence.
• Malware, spyware, ransomware, browser hijackers, cryptominers, unauthorised remote-access tools, or any software installed or executed without clear user consent.
• Phishing, credential harvesting, fake login pages, or impersonation of banks, government agencies, platforms, or brands.
• Counterfeit goods, unauthorised replicas, or products infringing trademarks or copyrights.
• Pirated or unlicensed distribution of films, television, sports broadcasts, music, software, games, or other copyrighted works, including unlicensed IPTV services.
• Weapons, ammunition, explosives, and instructions for making them.
• Illegal drugs, controlled substances without a valid prescription pathway, drug paraphernalia, and synthetic substitutes marketed to evade drug laws.
• Prescription-only medicines sold without a prescription, unapproved pharmaceuticals, anabolic steroids, and products making claims to cure, treat, or prevent disease without regulatory approval.
• Investment schemes that guarantee returns, Ponzi or pyramid structures, "recovery" services targeting prior fraud victims, pump-and-dump promotion, and unregistered securities offered where registration is required.
• Gambling services targeted at jurisdictions where the operator holds no licence and online gambling is prohibited, or at any user under the legal gambling age.
• Fake news, fabricated celebrity endorsements, deepfake content, and impersonation of real people.
• Hate speech, incitement to violence, terrorist content, and content that harasses or threatens individuals.
• Tech-support scams, fake virus warnings, fake system alerts, and "your device is infected" style messaging.
• Document forgery, fake IDs, diploma mills, essay mills, and services for cheating on licensed examinations.
• Human trafficking, escort services, and sale of human organs.
• Any content that violates the laws of the jurisdiction where it is served.

04 Restricted Verticals

These verticals are accepted subject to the conditions listed. Advertisers must meet every condition for their vertical before a campaign is activated and for as long as it runs. Publishers must declare which restricted verticals their inventory accepts; campaigns in a restricted vertical are served only to inventory that has opted in to it.

4.1 iGaming (casino, sportsbook, poker, lottery, bingo)

• The operator holds a valid licence from a recognised regulator (for example MGA, UKGC, Curaçao, Kahnawake, a US state regulator, or the regulator of the targeted market) and provides a copy during verification.
• Campaigns are geo-targeted only to markets where the operator is licensed or where online gambling by offshore operators is not prohibited. Campaigns must not target markets on our gambling exclusion list, which is applied automatically at the server level.
• Creatives display the minimum age (18+ or 21+ as applicable) and a responsible gambling message or link.
• Bonus offers state the key terms, including wagering requirements, time limits, and maximum withdrawal, on the landing page.
• No claims that gambling is a solution to financial problems, no targeting of self-excluded users, and no imagery appealing to minors.

4.2 Crypto and Web3

• Exchanges and custodial wallets must be registered or licensed where the targeted market requires it (for example FinCEN MSB registration in the US, MiCA authorisation in the EU, FCA registration in the UK).
• No guaranteed or projected returns, no "risk-free" language, and a clear statement that cryptocurrency values can fall.
• Token sales must not target jurisdictions where the token would constitute an unregistered security, and must disclose the issuing entity and total supply.
• Automated trading tools must disclose that past performance does not predict future results and must not fabricate performance history.
• No promotion of mixers, privacy tools marketed for evading sanctions, or services whose primary purpose is laundering proceeds.

4.3 Adult

• All performers are verified adults, with records maintained by the advertiser in accordance with applicable record-keeping laws, including 18 U.S.C. § 2257 where it applies.
• Ads are served only on inventory flagged as adult, and never on mainstream inventory. Adult campaigns cannot be targeted to inventory without the adult flag, and the server enforces this.
• Landing pages present an age gate before explicit content is shown, and comply with age verification laws in the targeted market.
• Creatives shown before the age gate are suggestive at most, with no exposed genitalia, no sexual acts, and no depiction of non-consent.
• Dating and cam offers must not use fake profiles, fabricated messages, or "someone near you wants to meet" claims that are not true.

4.4 Sweepstakes and Prize Offers

• Official rules are linked from the landing page and state the sponsor, eligibility, entry period, prize description, odds, and method of winner selection.
• Where entry is conditioned on a purchase or subscription, that condition is stated before the user enters any payment details, and a free method of entry is offered where law requires one.
• Creatives do not state or imply that the user has already won.
• Subscription billing is disclosed in a prominent position with price, frequency, and cancellation method before the payment step.
• Mobile content offers comply with carrier billing rules in the targeted market and provide a working one-step unsubscribe.

4.5 Nutra, Health and Supplements

• No claims to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any disease. Structure and function claims must be substantiated and carry the disclaimers required in the targeted market.
• No fabricated before-and-after imagery, fake doctor endorsements, fake news formats, or fabricated clinical studies.
• Trial and subscription offers disclose the full price after trial, billing frequency, trial length, and cancellation method on the same page as the order form.
• Products must be legal to sell in the targeted market and must not contain banned ingredients.
• Sexual health products comply with section 4.3 where creatives are explicit, and must not be marketed as prescription drug substitutes.

4.6 Dating

• Profiles shown in ads are either real members who have consented or are clearly labelled as illustrative.
• No fabricated messages, fake match notifications, or claims of specific people near the user.
• Billing terms for subscriptions are shown before payment, and cancellation is available online.
• Casual dating offers are treated as adult and must meet section 4.3.

4.7 Forex, CFDs, and Trading

• Brokers are regulated in the targeted market or in a jurisdiction that permits servicing that market, and provide their licence number during verification.
• A risk warning stating the percentage of retail accounts that lose money is displayed on creatives and landing pages where required (for example by ESMA or FCA rules).
• No guaranteed profits, no "get rich" messaging, no fake testimonials, and no fabricated trading results.
• Signal services, education, and prop firms disclose fees, refund terms, and that results vary.
• Campaigns must not target jurisdictions that prohibit retail CFD or binary options marketing.

4.8 VPN, Proxy, and Security Utilities

• Software is from an identifiable publisher, is signed, and does what it claims.
• No fake scan results, no fabricated threat warnings, and no claims that the user's device is infected.
• VPN and proxy services must not be marketed for evading law enforcement, committing fraud, or accessing prohibited content.
• Subscription terms and auto-renewal are disclosed before purchase.

4.9 Streaming and IPTV

• The service holds distribution rights for the content it offers and provides evidence of licensing on request.
• Creatives do not use copyrighted team logos, league marks, or film artwork without authorisation.
• Subscription billing terms are disclosed before payment.

05 Creative Standards

All ad units, regardless of vertical, must:

• Be identifiable as advertising and not imitate system dialogs, operating system notifications, error messages, download buttons, media player controls, or site navigation.
• Have working close buttons where the format includes one, with no fake or misplaced close targets.
• Not auto-play audio. Video with sound requires a user gesture.
• Not use strobing, flashing, or animation that persists beyond 30 seconds.
• Not contain profanity, slurs, or graphic violence.
• Use correct spelling and grammar in the language of the targeted market, without excessive capitalisation or punctuation.
• Not reference the user's personal data, location, or device in a way that implies surveillance ("we know where you are").
• Carry any disclaimer, age marker, or risk warning required by the vertical conditions above, legibly and in the same language as the creative.
• Match the landing page: the product, price, and claims in the creative must be the same product, price, and claims on the page it leads to.

06 Landing Page Standards

• Pages load over HTTPS and do not trigger browser security warnings.
• Pages do not trap the user with disabled back buttons, repeated dialogs, forced full-screen, or scripts that prevent navigation.
• Pages do not auto-download files or request permissions (notifications, location, camera) before the user has interacted with the content.
• Pages display the identity of the business behind the offer (legal name and a contact method) and a privacy policy.
• Any form that collects personal data states what it is for and obtains any consent required by law.
• Pre-landers (advertorials, quizzes, surveys) are permitted when they are clearly labelled as advertising, do not fabricate news sources or journalists, and lead to a landing page meeting these standards.
• Pages may not present different content based on whether the visitor appears to be a reviewer. See section 9.

07 Publisher Traffic Standards

Publishers must deliver human traffic from the sources disclosed on their application. The following are prohibited:

• Bot, scripted, emulated, or headless-browser traffic, including purchased "views" or "visits".
• Click farms, paid-to-click, and incentivised traffic that is not disclosed and approved as such.
• Forced, accidental, or deceptive clicks, including invisible overlays, buttons that move, or ads placed where a user would tap to dismiss content.
• Iframe stacking, pixel stuffing, hidden ad units, and ad refresh beyond the configured interval.
• Adware, toolbars, browser extensions, or injected ads shown on sites the publisher does not own.
• Traffic routed through proxies, VPNs, or data-centre IP ranges to misrepresent its origin or geography.
• Traffic from a source, domain, or app not disclosed on the application and approved by compliance.
• Email traffic sent without a lawful basis, without unsubscribe mechanisms, or to purchased lists.
• Push subscriptions obtained through deceptive prompts ("click Allow to continue") or on sites unrelated to the subscriber's intent.
• Social traffic generated by spam, mass automation, or policy violations on the originating platform.

Publisher inventory must not host content prohibited in section 3. Inventory serving restricted verticals must carry the matching flag and, for adult content, an age gate.

08 Technical Rules

• D4RKW3B tags must be used as issued. Modifying tag code, proxying tag requests, or wrapping tags in custom loaders is prohibited.
• Publisher IDs, zone IDs, smartlinks, and API keys are issued to one account and may not be shared, sold, or sublicensed.
• Popunder and interstitial formats are capped at one per user per session on each property; publishers may not use multiple zones to exceed this.
• Tags may not be placed on pages that load inside other pages' ad slots, in pop chains, or in traffic-exchange frames.
• Advertisers may not pass personal data (names, email addresses, phone numbers, precise location) in click URLs, postbacks, or custom parameters.
• API clients must respect rate limits and must not scrape the dashboard.

09 Cloaking and Misrepresentation

Showing our review systems, staff, or fraud vendors content that differs from what users see is the most serious policy violation short of prohibited content. It includes IP-based or user-agent-based page switching, "safe page" redirects, delayed redirects that activate after approval, and substituting an approved landing page with a different one. Accounts found cloaking are terminated on first offence, balances attributable to the cloaked campaigns are forfeited, and the account holder and associated entities are permanently barred.

Misrepresenting your identity, licensing, traffic source, site ownership, or relationship with another account is treated the same way.

10 Enforcement

Enforcement is proportionate to the severity and history of the violation. Actions, from least to most severe:

We notify the account holder of every enforcement action with the reason, the evidence we are able to share, and the steps required to resolve it. Where required by law, we report violations to the relevant authorities.

11 Appeals

Any enforcement action other than a termination for section 3 content or cloaking may be appealed within 14 days by emailing compliance@d4rkw3b.network with the reference number from the enforcement notice and your explanation or evidence. Appeals are reviewed by a compliance team member who was not involved in the original decision, and a written outcome is provided within 10 business days. One appeal is permitted per enforcement action.

12 Reporting Abuse

If you encounter an ad served by D4RKW3B that you believe violates this policy, or a site using our tags that hosts prohibited content, report it to abuse@d4rkw3b.network with the page URL, a screenshot, the time you saw it, and your approximate location. Reports are acknowledged within one business day and investigated within five. Rights holders may submit infringement notices to the same address with the information required under the DMCA or the equivalent law in their jurisdiction.