Cohere · Cohere Usage Policy · View original document ↗

Prohibition on CBRN and Weapons-Related Content

High severity Unique · 0 of 343 platforms
Share 𝕏 Share in Share 🔒 PDF
Recent governance activity Cohere recorded 5 documented changes in the last 30 days.
Start monitoring updates
Monitor governance changes for Cohere Create a free account to receive the weekly governance digest and monitor one platform for governance changes.
Create free account No credit card required.

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

ConductAtlas Analysis

Why it matters (compliance & governance perspective)

The approval requirement creates a gating mechanism for API access, enabling Cohere to evaluate proposed applications against its content policies before granting service access. This procedural control allows the provider to assess alignment with stated usage restrictions at the point of account enablement.

Recent Activity

This document changed recently

High May 24, 2026

The updated policy removes all substantive acceptable use requirements that were previously posted and enforceable. Users no longer have a referenced standard defining what conduct is prohibited on the platform. The removal of enforcement procedures means users cannot verify what conduct may trigger access restriction, suspension, or termination. The elimination of the child safety and sexually explicit content prohibitions from the posted policy creates uncertainty about whether these protections remain in effect through other terms or have been abandoned.

View change record →

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Developers must document their use case and obtain explicit approval to access the API; use cases involving the enumerated prohibited categories cannot proceed without this pre-access authorization. The terms condition API functionality on demonstrated compliance with the usage policy framework.

How other platforms handle this

Stripe Medium

You must not, and must not allow others to: Create content, products, or services using any part of the End User Services

Midjourney Medium

Do not generate images for political campaigns or to try to influence the outcome of an election. Do not generate images to spread misinformation or disinformation.

Teachable Medium

You agree not to post, upload, publish, submit or transmit any content that: (i) infringes, misappropriates or violates a third party's patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, moral rights or other intellectual property rights, or rights of publicity or privacy; (ii) violates, or encourages any ...

See all platforms with this clause type →

Monitoring

Cohere has changed this document before.

Receive same-day alerts, structured change summaries, and monitoring for up to 25 platforms.

Start Monitor free trial Or create a free account →
▸ View Original Clause Language DOCUMENT RECORD
"
Certain use cases, such as violence, hate speech, fraud, and privacy violations, are strictly prohibited. Developers must outline and get approval for their use case to access the Cohere API, understanding the models and limitations.

— Excerpt from Cohere's Cohere Usage Policy

Applicable regulations

CFAA
United States Federal
Trump Executive Order on AI Policy Framework
US

Provision details

Document information
Document
Cohere Usage Policy
Entity
Cohere
Document last updated
May 5, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
April 30, 2026
Last verified
May 12, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-004175
Document ID
CA-D-00442
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
Content hash (SHA-256)
2937f674a79ab03784eab9a8774b7c807068d6f695cd81b3eb7bc9419a338c76
Analysis generated
April 30, 2026 06:46 UTC
Methodology
Evidence
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Hash verified
Citation Record
Entity: Cohere
Document: Cohere Usage Policy
Record ID: CA-P-004175
Captured: 2026-04-30 06:46:20 UTC
SHA-256: 2937f674a79ab037…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/cohere/cohere-usage-policy/prohibition-on-cbrn-and-weapons-related-content/
Accessed: June 19, 2026
Permanent archival reference. Stable identifier suitable for legal filings, compliance documentation, and research citation.
Classification
Severity
High
Categories

Other risks in this policy

Compliance Governance Intelligence

Need to monitor specific governance provisions?

Compliance includes provision-level monitoring, governance timelines, regulatory mapping, and audit-ready analysis.

Arbitration clauses AI governance Data rights Indemnification Retention policies
Start Compliance free trial

Or start with Monitor →

Built from archived source documents, structured governance mappings, and historical version tracking.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Cohere's Prohibition on CBRN and Weapons-Related Content clause do?

The approval requirement creates a gating mechanism for API access, enabling Cohere to evaluate proposed applications against its content policies before granting service access. This procedural control allows the provider to assess alignment with stated usage restrictions at the point of account enablement.

How does this clause affect you?

Developers must document their use case and obtain explicit approval to access the API; use cases involving the enumerated prohibited categories cannot proceed without this pre-access authorization. The terms condition API functionality on demonstrated compliance with the usage policy framework.

Is ConductAtlas affiliated with Cohere?

No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Cohere.