Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using The BLACQList (“the Platform”), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service (“Terms”) and our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by reference. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Platform.

These Terms apply to all visitors, registered users, business owners who create or claim listings, and any other person who accesses or uses the Platform. By creating an account or submitting a listing, you represent that you are at least 18 years of age and have the legal authority to enter into this agreement.

2. The Platform

The BLACQList is a directory and discovery platform that centers Black-owned businesses in the United States and also lists Ally businesses that support them. We provide tools that allow businesses to create, manage, and promote their listings, and that allow community members to discover, save, review, and support those businesses.

The BLACQList does not independently verify all information submitted by business owners. Listings with a “Verified” or “BLACQList Certified” badge have been reviewed through our verification process, but we cannot guarantee the accuracy of any listing information. Users should verify business information independently before transacting.

3. User Accounts

To create an account, you must:

• Provide accurate, complete, and current registration information
• Be at least 18 years of age
• Keep your account credentials secure and not share them with others
• Notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account at support@theblacqlist.com

You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account, whether or not you authorized it. We will not be liable for losses arising from unauthorized use of your account where you failed to maintain the security of your credentials.

You may not create more than one account per person. Accounts created to circumvent suspension or to misrepresent business ownership are prohibited.

4. Business Listings

Editorial focus. The BLACQList is an editorial directory that centers and elevates Black-owned businesses, meaning businesses in which Black or African American individual(s) hold majority ownership (≥51%) and exercise meaningful operational control or management authority. Business listings carry no ownership label, except that a business that is not majority Black-owned may be listed as an “Ally,” meaning a business that supports Black-owned businesses but is not itself majority Black-owned. How listings are presented and prioritized is an editorial decision. The weekly Featured badge is earned by activity, as described on our How Ranking Works page. We reserve the right to decline, remove, or re-label any submission, and to exercise that discretion without prior notice and without liability.

Business owners who create or claim listings represent and warrant that:

• They have authority to represent the business (as an owner, partner, or authorized agent)
• All information submitted is accurate, complete, and not misleading
• If they list as an Ally, that label is accurate: the business supports Black-owned businesses and is not itself majority Black-owned
• Any images, logos, or content submitted, including photos picked from a website and AI drafts they choose to use, are theirs or used with permission, and do not violate anyone's intellectual property, privacy, or publicity rights
• Any website or link-in-bio page they ask us to read belongs to their business, or they are authorized to use it for the business
• The business is operating lawfully and in compliance with applicable laws

Bringing in your website. You can ask us to read a public web page to fill in your draft. Only give us a link to your own business's site, or a page you're authorized to use for it. When you ask, you're directing us to make that one request for you. We may decline any page, and we may review or remove any listing set up this way.

AI writing help. We may offer AI drafts for your page. AI drafts are suggestions. They can be wrong, out of date, or a poor fit, and our team doesn't check them before you see them. Read every draft before you use it.

When you use a draft, with or without edits, it becomes your listing content. You're responsible for it, and the promises above about accuracy apply to it the same as anything you write yourself.

Don't use AI help to write anything false or misleading, such as made-up reviews, testimonials, awards, licenses, prices, or health or legal claims.

We don't promise that AI drafts or search titles will improve how your page ranks in search engines or on The BLACQList. AI help may have limits, may change, and may be paused or turned off at any time.

We reserve the right to remove, modify, or decline any listing that violates these Terms, contains false or misleading information, is submitted fraudulently, or is otherwise inconsistent with the purpose and values of the Platform. We may exercise this right without prior notice and without liability to you.

Business listing content you make public (business name, description, address, hours, contact information, and photos) may be indexed by search engines and distributed by third-party data aggregators. We are not responsible for how third parties use publicly listed information.

5. Creator Pages

Who can have a creator page. A creator page is a page about one person who makes content, such as an influencer, video creator, podcaster, streamer, or writer. Creators add their own pages. We do not create a page about a person without that person's consent, and you may not create a creator page about someone else. You must be at least 18 years old to have a creator page.

Creator labels. Creator pages carry no ownership label, except that a creator who is not Black may be listed as an “Ally Creator,” meaning a creator who is not Black and who supports Black-owned businesses and creators. As with business listings, how creator pages are presented is an editorial decision, and we may decline, remove, or re-label any creator page without prior notice and without liability.

Creators who add a page represent and warrant that:

• The page is about them, and they are at least 18 years old
• They run the social accounts and other profiles the page links to
• If they list as an Ally Creator, that label is accurate
• The audience size they choose is their honest estimate. It is shown on the page as self-reported, and we do not check it
• No one under 18 is presented as the creator
• Any images, videos, or other content submitted do not violate third-party rights

Partnerships. Any page may say it is open to partnerships (“Open to brand deals” on creator pages, “Open to creator partnerships & sponsorships” on other pages). This is the page owner's own statement. The BLACQList does not make introductions, arrange or guarantee deals, or take part in any agreement between creators and businesses, and is not responsible for those agreements. Creators are responsible for disclosing paid partnerships and sponsored content as the law requires, including the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's Endorsement Guides.

Creator page content you make public (your name, description, photos, links, and the details you choose) may be indexed by search engines and distributed by third-party data aggregators. We are not responsible for how third parties use publicly listed information.

6. Community Content

By submitting reviews, receipts, photos, or other content to the Platform (“User Content”), you grant The BLACQList a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual license to use, reproduce, display, distribute, and prepare derivative works of that content solely for the purpose of operating and improving the Platform. You retain ownership of your User Content.

You represent that your User Content:

• Is accurate to the best of your knowledge
• Does not infringe any third party's intellectual property, privacy, or publicity rights
• Does not contain false, defamatory, harassing, abusive, or discriminatory material
• Is not spam or commercially motivated beyond genuine community sharing
• Does not violate any applicable law or regulation

We reserve the right to review, moderate, edit, or remove User Content that violates these Terms or our community standards.

7. Receipt and Spend Data

When you submit receipts through the community spend feature, you confirm that:

• The receipt represents a genuine transaction you made
• You are the submitting party and have the right to upload the receipt
• You consent to your spend data being reviewed by our team for verification purposes
• You consent to your anonymized spend data being included in community aggregate totals, unless you opt that receipt out when you submit it, or from Account → Receipts before it is approved

Reading your receipt. If you tick “Read my receipt for me,” an AI provider reads the photo and fills in the business, total and date for you (see our Privacy Policy). It's optional, and it can get things wrong. Check each field before you add the receipt. The promises above apply to what you add, whether you typed it or it was filled in from your photo. This help may have limits, may change, and we may pause it or turn it off without notice.

Submitting fraudulent receipts, receipts for transactions you did not make, or doctored receipts is a material breach of these Terms and may result in immediate account termination and referral to appropriate authorities.

8. Prohibited Uses

You may not use the Platform to:

• Scrape, crawl, or systematically extract data without our prior written permission
• Submit false, fraudulent, or misleading business claims or listing information
• Submit fraudulent receipts or spend data
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Platform, its systems, or other users' accounts
• Interfere with, disrupt, or degrade the Platform's operation or other users' experience
• Use the Platform for any unlawful purpose or in violation of applicable law
• Harass, threaten, or intimidate other users or business owners
• Impersonate another person or entity
• Post content containing viruses, malware, or other harmful code

9. Intellectual Property

The BLACQList name, logo, wordmark, design system, platform software, and all original Platform content created by us are owned by The BLACQList and protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, or create derivative works from our proprietary content without our prior written permission.

Business listing content uploaded or brought in by business owners (business name, description, photos, logos, and photos picked from the owner's website) remains the property of those business owners, subject to the license granted in Section 6. As between you and us, AI drafts you choose to use on your page are treated as your listing content.

Copyright complaints (DMCA)

We respect intellectual property rights and respond to valid notices of alleged copyright infringement. If you believe content on the Platform infringes your copyright, send a written notice to our designated agent at notice@theblacqlist.com including: your contact information, identification of the copyrighted work, the location of the allegedly infringing material on the Platform, a statement of good-faith belief that the use is unauthorized, a statement under penalty of perjury that your notice is accurate and you are authorized to act, and your physical or electronic signature. We will remove infringing material in appropriate cases and may terminate the accounts of repeat infringers.

Our designated agent for copyright notices is The BLACQList, LLC, registered with the U.S. Copyright Office (Registration No. DMCA-1074879). Written notices may be sent to the designated agent at notice@theblacqlist.com or by mail at 3133 Maple Dr NE, Ste 240 #1130, Atlanta, GA 30305.

10. Disclaimers

The Platform is provided “as is” and “as available” without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.

We do not warrant that:

• Listing information is accurate, complete, or current
• AI drafts, or information brought in from a website, are accurate, complete, or right for your page
• The Platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure
• Any goods or services offered by listed businesses meet any particular standard of quality

The BLACQList is not a party to any transaction between users and listed businesses. We are not responsible for the quality, safety, legality, or any other aspect of goods or services offered by businesses listed on the Platform. Always verify business information independently before transacting.

11. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, The BLACQList and its officers, directors, employees, and agents shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to loss of profits, data, goodwill, or other intangible losses, arising from:

• Your access to or use of (or inability to access or use) the Platform
• Any conduct or content of third parties on the Platform
• Inaccurate business listing information submitted by third parties
• Unauthorized access to or alteration of your data

Our total liability to you for all claims arising from or relating to these Terms or the Platform shall not exceed the greater of (a) $100 USD or (b) the total amount you paid to The BLACQList in the twelve months preceding the claim.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or limitations of liability, so some of the above limitations may not apply to you.

12. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your account or access to the Platform at any time, with or without notice, for violation of these Terms, fraudulent activity, conduct harmful to other users or the Platform, or for any other reason at our discretion.

You may delete your account at any time through your account settings. Upon account deletion, your personal information will be removed as described in our Privacy Policy. Publicly indexed listing content may persist in search engine caches beyond our control.

Provisions that by their nature should survive termination will survive, including Sections 5, 8, 9, 10, 12, and 13.

13. Paid Plans and Billing

13.1 Plans. Some features need a paid plan for your page. Current plans, prices and what each one includes are shown on our Pricing page. Each plan covers one page.

13.2 Billing. You pay in advance, monthly or yearly, depending on what you choose at checkout. Payments are processed by Stripe. Prices are in US dollars and do not include any taxes that apply.

13.3 Automatic renewal. Your plan renews automatically at the end of each monthly or yearly term, and we charge the payment method on file at the then-current price, until you cancel. We will tell you at least 30 days before any price change takes effect for you. For yearly plans, we will email you at least 15 days before each renewal.

13.4 Cancelling. You can cancel at any time from your dashboard under Upgrade, then Manage subscription. You do not need to contact us. When you cancel, your plan stays active until the end of the term you already paid for, then your page moves to the free plan.

13.5 Refunds. Payments are non-refundable, including for partial months or years, except where the law requires otherwise or where we decide to give a refund.

13.6 Changing plans. If you move to a higher plan, the change takes effect right away and Stripe charges the prorated difference. If you move to a lower plan, the change takes effect at the end of your current term. Content over the lower plan's limits, such as extra photos, videos, products and services, is hidden from your public page, not deleted, and shows again if you move back up.

13.7 Failed payments. If a payment fails, we and Stripe will try again over a short period and let you know. Your plan stays active while we retry. If payment still fails, your page moves to the free plan, with content handled as in 13.6.

13.8 Free trials and promotions. We may offer a free period on a plan, for example to early testers. We will say at the start whether a card is needed and what happens when it ends. A free period that did not ask for a card ends on its own, with no charge.

13.9 Ending your account. If you delete your account, your paid plan is cancelled at the same time and no further charges are made. Section 13.5 applies to anything already paid. If we terminate your account under Section 12 for a breach of these Terms, no refund is due. If we end the service or a plan for any other reason, we will refund the unused part of any prepaid term.

14. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the United States and the state of Georgia, without regard to its conflict of law principles. Any disputes arising from or relating to these Terms or the Platform shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Georgia.

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

15. Changes to Terms

We may update these Terms at any time. We will notify registered users of material changes by email at least 14 days before they take effect. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

Continued use of the Platform after changes take effect constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you must stop using the Platform.

16. Contact

Questions about these Terms: legal@theblacqlist.com

The BLACQList, operated by The BLACQList, LLC
3133 Maple Dr NE, Ste 240 #1130
Atlanta, GA 30305