Cohere · Cohere Usage Policy

Prohibition on Surveillance and Tracking Without Consent

High severity
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What it is

Cohere prohibits using its AI to build tools that track or surveil individuals without their knowledge or consent, including unauthorized location tracking or behavioral profiling.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Individuals are protected from having Cohere-powered tools used to surveil them without consent, but the lack of a clear definition of 'surveillance' means enforcement may be inconsistent across different commercial use cases.

Cross-platform context

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Why it matters (compliance & risk perspective)

This provision creates compliance ambiguity for enterprise customers deploying legitimate employee monitoring, fraud detection, or security tools, as the boundary between lawful monitoring and prohibited surveillance is not precisely defined in the document.

View original clause language
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.

Institutional analysis (Compliance & legal intelligence)

(1) REGULATORY FRAMEWORK: This prohibition engages ECPA (18 U.S.C. §2510) on electronic surveillance; GDPR Art. 22 on automated individual decision-making; CCPA §1798.100 on data collection without notice; Illinois BIPA (740 ILCS 14) on biometric data collection; and FTC Act Section 5 on unfair data collection practices, enforced by the FTC and state AGs. (2)

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Applicable agencies

  • FTC
    The FTC enforces against covert surveillance and tracking tools under Section 5, including AI-powered stalkerware and unauthorized monitoring applications.
    File a complaint →
  • State AG
    State attorneys general enforce BIPA, CCPA, and state wiretapping statutes against unauthorized AI-enabled surveillance of individuals.
    File a complaint →

Provision details

Document information
Document
Cohere Usage Policy
Entity
Cohere
Document last updated
April 29, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
April 30, 2026
Last verified
April 30, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-004174
Document ID
CA-D-00442
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
SHA-256
2937f674a79ab03784eab9a8774b7c807068d6f695cd81b3eb7bc9419a338c76
Verified
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Change verified
How to Cite
ConductAtlas Policy Archive
Entity: Cohere | Document: Cohere Usage Policy | Record: CA-P-004174
Captured: 2026-04-30 06:46:20 UTC | SHA-256: 2937f674a79ab037…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/cohere/cohere-usage-policy/prohibition-on-surveillance-and-tracking-without-consent/
Accessed: May 2, 2026
Classification
Severity
High
Categories

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