Businesses that build products using Cohere's API are contractually responsible for making sure their applications and their users follow Cohere's rules, not just Cohere itself.
This analysis describes what Cohere's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
This provision allocates responsibility for AUP compliance to operators rather than Cohere, meaning that if an operator's application enables a prohibited use, the operator bears the compliance exposure even if an end user initiates the violating conduct.
Interpretive note: The enforceability of this liability allocation against third-party regulatory claims or mandatory legal obligations in specific jurisdictions may not be fully determined by contractual terms alone.
End users of applications built on Cohere's API are subject to these restrictions through their operator's platform, and if an operator fails to enforce the policy, it is the operator rather than Cohere that faces primary contractual liability under these terms.
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"Operators who access Cohere's services via API to build products and services are responsible for ensuring that their applications comply with this Acceptable Use Policy and that their end users do not use Cohere's services in prohibited ways.— Excerpt from Cohere's Cohere Responsible Use Policy
REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This liability allocation structure engages general principles of platform liability, including Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in the US (which provides conditional immunity to platforms for user-generated content), the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) which imposes due diligence obligations on online intermediaries, and the EU AI Act's allocation of obligations between AI providers and deployers. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: High for enterprise API users. This provision effectively transfers primary enforcement responsibility to operators, which may not align with how regulators assign liability under mandatory frameworks like the EU AI Act, where obligations attach independently of contractual allocation. JURISDICTION FLAGS: EU operators are subject to the DSA's due diligence requirements and the EU AI Act's deployer obligations regardless of what their vendor agreement with Cohere states. US operators should assess whether their downstream liability exposure is adequately addressed by their own terms of service and content moderation systems. This provision may face legal challenge if regulatory frameworks impose non-waivable obligations on Cohere as the AI provider. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Procurement teams at organizations using the Cohere API should treat this provision as a trigger for due diligence on their own content moderation capabilities, user agreements, and incident response procedures. The provision does not address indemnification between Cohere and operators, which should be reviewed in the master service agreement. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Operators should conduct a use-case risk assessment, implement technical controls to detect and prevent prohibited uses, maintain audit logs of AI-generated content where feasible, and ensure their terms of service with end users flow down the relevant AUP restrictions. EU deployers should independently assess their obligations under the EU AI Act and DSA.
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This provision allocates responsibility for AUP compliance to operators rather than Cohere, meaning that if an operator's application enables a prohibited use, the operator bears the compliance exposure even if an end user initiates the violating conduct.
End users of applications built on Cohere's API are subject to these restrictions through their operator's platform, and if an operator fails to enforce the policy, it is the operator rather than Cohere that faces primary contractual liability under these terms.
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