Terms
of Use
These Terms govern your access to and use of BCN.media's digital platforms, content, and services. Please read them carefully. By accessing BCN.media, you agree to be bound by these Terms.
1 January 2025
5.0
Republic of India
Courts of New Delhi
Legal Enquiries
For legal and compliance matters:
legal@bcn.media
compliance@bcn.media
Copyright infringement notices:
copyright@bcn.media
Last Updated
1 January 2025
Version 5.0 — Supersedes v4.2 (April 2024)
These Terms of Use (“Terms”) constitute a legally binding agreement between you (“User,” “you”) and Bharat Chronicle Network Pvt. Ltd. (operating as BCN.media) governing your access to and use of BCN.media’s website, mobile applications, newsletters, APIs, and all associated digital services (collectively, “BCN Services”). These Terms are in addition to BCN.media’s Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, and Editorial Standards, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must discontinue use of BCN Services immediately.
1
Acceptance of Terms
By accessing, browsing, reading, or otherwise using any BCN Service, you represent and warrant that: (a) you are at least 13 years of age (or 18 years of age where required by applicable law); (b) you have full legal capacity and authority to enter into these Terms; (c) your use of BCN Services will comply with all applicable laws and regulations; and (d) you have read and understood these Terms and agree to be legally bound by them.
If you are accessing BCN Services on behalf of an organisation, educational institution, or employer, you represent that you have authority to bind that entity to these Terms, and “you” shall refer to that entity.
Important Notice
These Terms include a binding arbitration clause and class action waiver in Section 12. Please review Section 12 carefully before using BCN Services.
2
About BCN.media
BCN.media is an independent, digitally-native news and media organisation dedicated to journalism in the public interest, with a primary focus on India and the global Indian diaspora. BCN.media provides news articles, analysis, investigative reporting, opinion content, video journalism, podcasts, newsletters, data journalism, and multimedia features (collectively, “Content”).
Registered Name
Bharat Chronicle Network Pvt. Ltd.
Operating Brand
BCN.media — Bharat Chronicle Network
Registered Office
New Delhi — 110001, India
Nature of Service
Digital journalism, news media, and information services platform
BCN.media is committed to press freedom and independent journalism. Nothing in these Terms shall be construed to limit BCN.media’s editorial independence, or the legal protections afforded to journalists under applicable press freedom and source protection laws.
3
Account Registration
Certain BCN Services, including subscriber-only content, comments, newsletters, and event access, require account registration. When registering, you agree to:
- Provide Accurate Information: Furnish true, current, and complete registration information. Providing false or misleading information constitutes a material breach of these Terms.
- Maintain Account Security: Protect your login credentials and immediately notify BCN.media at security@bcn.media of any unauthorised access or suspected breach of your account.
- Responsibility for Account Activity: You are solely responsible for all activity occurring under your account, whether or not authorised by you.
- One Account per Person: You may not create multiple accounts for the purpose of circumventing access restrictions, evading bans, or manipulating comment systems.
- No Transfer: Your account is personal and non-transferable. You may not share, sell, or assign account access to any third party.
BCN.media reserves the right to suspend or permanently close any account found to be in breach of these Terms, or where we have reason to believe the account is being operated fraudulently or by an automated system (bot).
4
Subscriptions & Payments
BCN.media offers both free and paid subscription tiers. Paid subscriptions (“BCN Premium”) provide access to exclusive content, newsletters, audio, and features not available to free users.
4.1 Billing & Renewal
- All paid subscriptions are billed in advance on a monthly or annual basis as selected at checkout.
- Subscriptions automatically renew at the end of each billing period unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the renewal date.
- BCN.media will send a renewal reminder at least 7 days before each annual billing date.
- Prices are subject to change; BCN.media will provide at least 30 days’ notice of any price increase. Continued use after a price change constitutes acceptance.
- Payment is processed by our PCI-DSS certified payment partners. BCN.media does not store full payment card details.
4.2 Refunds & Cancellations
- Annual Subscriptions: A full refund is available within 14 days of initial purchase or renewal if no Premium content has been accessed. Pro-rata refunds may be issued at BCN.media’s discretion thereafter.
- Monthly Subscriptions: Not eligible for refund once a billing period has commenced.
- Promotional & Trial Subscriptions: Trial access is available to first-time subscribers only. One trial per household. Charging commences automatically at trial end unless cancelled.
- How to Cancel: Via your account dashboard, or by emailing subscriptions@bcn.media. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period.
5
Subscriptions & Payments
All Content published on BCN.media — including but not limited to news articles, investigative reports, opinion columns, photographs, illustrations, graphics, video footage, audio recordings, podcasts, data visualisations, headlines, standfirsts, captions, interactive features, and the BCN.media brand identity — is owned by or licensed to Bharat Chronicle Network Pvt. Ltd. and is protected by copyright, trademark, database rights, and other applicable intellectual property laws.
The BCN name, logo, “Bharat Chronicle Network” wordmark, “.MEDIA” designation, and associated visual identity are registered or common-law trademarks of Bharat Chronicle Network Pvt. Ltd. Unauthorised use of BCN trademarks is prohibited and may constitute trade mark infringement.
5.1 Limited Licence to Users
BCN.media grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to access and use BCN Services for personal, non-commercial purposes only. This licence does not include the right to:
- Reproduce, republish, redistribute, or retransmit BCN Content in whole or in substantial part without prior written authorisation;
- Sell, sublicense, or commercially exploit BCN Content in any form;
- Scrape, crawl, spider, index, or systematically download BCN Content by automated means;
- Create derivative works based on BCN Content without prior written consent;
- Remove, alter, or obscure any copyright, trademark, or attribution notice.
5.2 Permitted Sharing
You may share BCN article links via social media, email, or messaging applications. You may quote limited excerpts (not exceeding 100 words per article) for the purpose of commentary, criticism, or news reporting, provided you include a clear attribution to BCN.media and a hyperlink to the original article.
5.3 Copyright Infringement Notices (DMCA / IT Act)
If you believe that any Content on BCN.media infringes your copyright, please send a written notice to copyright@bcn.media including: (a) identification of the copyrighted work; (b) identification of the allegedly infringing material with a URL; (c) your contact information; (d) a statement of good faith belief; and (e) a statement of accuracy under penalty of perjury. BCN.media will respond to valid infringement notices in accordance with applicable law.
6
Permitted Use & Restrictions
BCN Services must be used only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. The following conduct matrix applies to all users:
Permitted
- Reading and watching BCN news content
- Sharing article links on social media
- Short fair-use quotation with attribution
- Subscribing and managing your account
- Submitting tips via the secure tip line
- Commenting under community standards
- Downloading podcasts for personal offline use
- Using BCN RSS feeds for personal aggregation
- Academic citation of BCN articles with attribution
Prohibited
- Commercial republication of BCN content
- Systematic scraping or data harvesting
- Circumventing paywalls or access controls
- Impersonating BCN journalists or staff
- Submitting false or defamatory content
- Hate speech, harassment, or abuse in comments
- Uploading malware or attempting system attacks
- AI training on BCN content without licence
- Creating fake accounts or vote manipulation
BCN.media reserves the right — at its sole discretion and without prior notice — to restrict, suspend, or terminate access for any user found to be in breach of these restrictions. Serious violations may be referred to law enforcement authorities.
7
User-Generated Content
BCN.media may permit users to submit content including comments, letters to the editor, reader photographs, survey responses, and tip-line submissions (“User Content”). By submitting User Content, you:
- Grant a Licence: Grant BCN.media a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive licence to publish, display, distribute, modify, translate, and create derivative works from your User Content in connection with BCN Services and BCN journalism.
- Represent Ownership: Warrant that you own or have all necessary rights to submit the User Content, and that its publication by BCN.media will not infringe any third party’s intellectual property, privacy, or other rights.
- Accept Moderation: Acknowledge that BCN.media may edit, refuse to publish, or remove any User Content at its sole discretion, including content that violates BCN’s Community Standards.
- Assume Responsibility: Remain solely responsible for the accuracy, legality, and appropriateness of your User Content. BCN.media is not liable for User Content.
BCN.media’s comment and community sections are governed by BCN Community Standards, which prohibit defamatory, hateful, threatening, sexually explicit, spam, or otherwise unlawful content. Repeated violations will result in permanent account suspension.
8
Press Freedom & Editorial Independence
BCN.media operates as an editorially independent news organisation. Our journalism is governed by our Editorial Standards, not by commercial, advertiser, government, or user pressure. Users accessing BCN Services acknowledge and accept that:
- BCN.media has the absolute right to publish accurate news and commentary in the public interest, including content that may be critical of governments, corporations, public figures, or institutions;
- Editorial decisions — including what to publish, how to report, which sources to protect, and how to frame stories — are exclusively the domain of BCN.media’s editorial team;
- Opinions, analysis, and commentary published on BCN.media represent the views of the individual author and do not constitute the official position of BCN.media as an organisation unless expressly attributed as such;
- BCN.media will protect the identity and information of confidential sources as a matter of journalistic principle and applicable press freedom law, including in the face of legal pressure;
- No advertiser, sponsor, or commercial partner has editorial control over BCN.media’s journalism. Commercial content is clearly labelled as “Advertisement,” “Sponsored,” or “Partner Content” and is separated from editorial content.
9
Disclaimers & Accuracy
BCN.media is committed to accuracy, verification, and responsible journalism. However, news reporting is inherently dynamic and situations evolve rapidly. The following disclaimers apply:
- No Warranty of Accuracy: While BCN.media takes all reasonable steps to verify information before publication, all Content is provided “as is” and BCN.media makes no warranty — express or implied — as to the completeness, accuracy, timeliness, or fitness for a particular purpose of any Content.
- Not Professional Advice: Nothing on BCN.media constitutes legal, financial, medical, investment, tax, or other professional advice. You should consult a qualified professional before acting on any information published on BCN.media.
- Breaking News: Content published under “Breaking News” designations represents the best available information at the time of publication and may be updated, corrected, or revised as additional verified facts emerge.
- Opinion Content: Columns, editorials, op-eds, and opinion pieces represent the personal views of their authors only. BCN.media’s publication of such content does not constitute endorsement of the views expressed.
- Corrections: BCN.media maintains a rigorous corrections policy. Significant factual corrections are published on the original article and logged in our public corrections register. To report a factual error, contact corrections@bcn.media.
- External Links: BCN.media is not responsible for the content, accuracy, or availability of external websites linked from our Content.
- Availability: BCN Services are provided on an “as available” basis. BCN.media does not warrant uninterrupted, error-free, or virus-free operation of its platforms.
10
Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, BCN.media, its directors, officers, employees, journalists, contributors, licensors, and service providers shall not be liable to you for any:
- Indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages;
- Loss of profits, revenue, data, business, or goodwill;
- Business interruption or loss of anticipated savings;
- Damages arising from your reliance on BCN Content for any business or financial decision;
- Damages arising from unauthorised access to or alteration of your data or transmissions;
- Any matter beyond BCN.media’s reasonable control (force majeure).
Aggregate Liability Cap: BCN.media’s total cumulative liability to you for all claims arising under or in connection with these Terms or BCN Services, whether in contract, tort, or otherwise, shall not exceed the greater of (a) the amount paid by you to BCN.media in the 12 months preceding the claim, or (b) INR 5,000 (Indian Rupees Five Thousand).
Some jurisdictions do not permit the exclusion of certain warranties or limitation of liability. In such jurisdictions, these limitations apply to the fullest extent permitted by law.
11
Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless BCN.media and its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, journalists, and agents from and against any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from or related to:
- Your access to or use of BCN Services in violation of these Terms;
- Any User Content you submit, post, or transmit through BCN Services;
- Your violation of any applicable law, regulation, or third-party right;
- Your wilful misconduct, negligence, or fraudulent activity.
BCN.media reserves the right to assume exclusive control of the defence of any matter subject to indemnification by you, at your expense. You agree to cooperate fully with BCN.media in the defence of any claim.
12
Governing Law & Disputes
These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of India, without regard to its conflict of law principles.
12.1 Dispute Resolution
- Informal Resolution First: Before initiating formal proceedings, you agree to contact BCN.media at legal@bcn.media and attempt in good faith to resolve the dispute informally within 30 days.
- Arbitration: If informal resolution fails, disputes shall be submitted to binding arbitration administered under the rules of the Indian Council of Arbitration by a sole arbitrator appointed by mutual agreement or the ICA. Arbitration shall be conducted in English in New Delhi, India.
- Class Action Waiver: You waive the right to participate in any class, collective, or representative action. All disputes must be resolved individually.
- Exceptions: Either party may seek emergency injunctive or other equitable relief in competent courts of New Delhi to prevent irreparable harm pending arbitration.
12.2 Jurisdiction for Court Proceedings
For matters not subject to arbitration, you agree to submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of the courts of competent jurisdiction in New Delhi, India, and waive any objection to venue in such courts.
Users located in the European Union or United Kingdom retain the right to bring proceedings before competent courts in their country of residence under applicable consumer protection and data protection laws.
13
Termination
BCN.media may, at its sole discretion and without prior notice, suspend or permanently terminate your access to BCN Services if:
- You breach any provision of these Terms in a manner that is material or repeated;
- BCN.media receives a valid court order, regulatory direction, or law enforcement instruction requiring termination;
- Your account is found to be involved in fraudulent, abusive, or unlawful activity;
- Your conduct poses a risk to the safety, security, or reputation of BCN.media or other users.
You may terminate your BCN account at any time via your account settings. Termination does not entitle you to a refund except as provided in Section 4.
Upon termination, your right to access BCN Services ceases immediately. Provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination — including Sections 5, 9, 10, 11, and 12 — shall survive.
14
Changes to Terms
BCN.media reserves the right to modify these Terms at any time. We will provide notice of material changes by:
- Updating the “Effective Date” and version number at the top of this document;
- Publishing a notice on BCN.media’s homepage for a minimum of 15 days;
- Sending an email notification to all registered subscribers.
Your continued use of BCN Services after the effective date of revised Terms constitutes your acceptance of those Terms. If you do not agree to revised Terms, you must stop using BCN Services and, if applicable, cancel your subscription before the effective date.
15
Contact Us
For legal enquiries, intellectual property matters, subscription support, and general questions about these Terms, please contact:
Legal & Compliance
BCN.media Legal Team
Bharat Chronicle Network Pvt. Ltd.
New Delhi — 110001, India
Copyright & IP Notices
Intellectual Property Officer
BCN.media
For DMCA / IT Act copyright notices and licensing enquiries.
Subscriptions & Billing
Editorial & Corrections
BCN.media Editorial Standards Team
corrections@bcn.media
standards@bcn.media
For factual corrections and editorial complaints.
