If your use of Duolingo causes a legal claim against Duolingo, you may be required to pay Duolingo's legal costs and any resulting damages.
This analysis describes what Duolingo'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 clause means that if a third party sues Duolingo because of something you did on the platform, you could be held responsible for Duolingo's legal defense costs, which could be substantial.
Interpretive note: Enforceability against ordinary consumers (as opposed to business users) may vary by jurisdiction; EU unfair contract terms law may limit its application.
If your actions on Duolingo lead to a legal claim, you bear the financial risk of defending Duolingo and covering any resulting losses, including attorney fees.
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"You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Duolingo and its officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, affiliates, and successors from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, costs, expenses, or fees (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to your violation of these Terms or your use of the Services, including, but not limited to, your User Content, any use of the Service's content, services, and products other than as expressly authorized in these Terms.— Excerpt from Duolingo's Duolingo Terms of Service
REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: Consumer-facing indemnification clauses are common in U.S. technology terms but may be subject to scrutiny under state consumer protection law and may be unenforceable as applied to unsophisticated consumers in certain jurisdictions. In EU jurisdictions, broad indemnification obligations imposed on consumers by standard-form contracts may be challenged as unfair terms under EU Directive 93/13/EEC. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Medium. While broad indemnification clauses are standard, their application to average consumers rather than business users creates consumer protection exposure, particularly where the clause covers attorneys' fees that could far exceed any benefit the user received from the platform. JURISDICTION FLAGS: EU consumers may have grounds to challenge this clause as an unfair contract term. California courts have occasionally limited the enforceability of consumer indemnification clauses under unconscionability doctrine. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Institutional users should assess whether their deployment of Duolingo creates organizational liability under this indemnification clause, particularly if users (such as students) engage in conduct that triggers third-party claims. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Legal teams should assess whether this clause is appropriately disclosed to consumers and whether its scope is proportionate to the user's actual ability to cause third-party harm on a language learning platform. Jurisdictional enforceability should be evaluated for EU and UK deployments.
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This clause means that if a third party sues Duolingo because of something you did on the platform, you could be held responsible for Duolingo's legal defense costs, which could be substantial.
If your actions on Duolingo lead to a legal claim, you bear the financial risk of defending Duolingo and covering any resulting losses, including attorney fees.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 7 platforms. See the full comparison.
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