GitHub Acceptable Use Policies

The GitHub Acceptable Use Policies (AUP) govern permissible conduct on GitHub's platforms and services, operating as a binding supplement to GitHub's Terms of Service and Corporate Terms of Service. The agreement states that users must not post content or engage in activity that violates applicable laws, infringes intellectual property rights, transmits malware, conducts phishing, generates unsolicited bulk communications, or uses GitHub infrastructure for cryptomining without permission; the terms also prohibit content that is sexually obscene, unlawfully discriminatory, or constitutes threats of violence. The policy asserts broad content moderation authority, including the right to remove content, restrict access, and suspend accounts for violations, with GitHub retaining sole discretion over enforcement determinations, which is a standard but operationally significant reservation of rights for developer-dependent users. The document engages frameworks including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and, where applicable to EU-based users, the Digital Services Act and GDPR; the FTC Act is also potentially relevant to deceptive or unfair practices claims. Compliance teams should note that the AUP's broad prohibition categories are implemented through sub-policies linked within the document, meaning full compliance assessment requires review of each subsidiary policy document alongside the master AUP.