Hugging Face · Hugging Face Terms of Service · View original document ↗

Open Source License Preservation

Medium severity High confidence Explicitdocumentlanguage Unique · 0 of 343 platforms
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Document Record

What it is

If content on Hugging Face is published under an open source or other license notice, that license continues to apply when others access or use that content; neither Hugging Face nor users are allowed to remove those license notices.

This analysis describes what Hugging Face'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)

This clause establishes that open source license terms attached to models, datasets, or code persist through access and redistribution on the platform, and that license notices cannot be stripped by any party.

Clause Stability Stable

0
Changes
3
Months Monitored
May 11, 2026
First Seen
May 22, 2026
Last Seen
This clause type exists across 646 other provisions on other platforms.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Models and datasets published on Hugging Face with open source or other license notices retain those licenses when accessed, downloaded, or redistributed; users who download and use such content are bound by the original license terms regardless of how they obtained the content through the platform.

How other platforms handle this

Kajabi Medium

"Content" means anything you or your Customers create or make available through the Service in connection with your Account, including your intellectual property (e.g. trademarks, trade names, service marks, and copyrighted works); the products or services you offer (e.g., courses, coaching, members...

ConvertKit Medium

By posting, uploading, inputting, providing or submitting your Content you grant Kit, its affiliated companies and necessary sublicensees permission to use your Content in connection with the operation of their Internet businesses including, without limitation, the rights to: copy, distribute, trans...

Epic Games Medium

By submitting, sharing, or otherwise making User-Generated Content available through any of the Licensed Products, including by submitting User-Generated Content using UEFN, you grant Epic a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, sublicensable, worldwide license to use, reproduce, modi...

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▸ View Original Clause Language DOCUMENT RECORD
"
When Content contains notice of a reasonable and customary license, (such as an open source license) such Content is intended to remain under the terms of such license when further accessed, distributed, or used. Neither party is permitted to remove reference to any such license.

— Excerpt from Hugging Face's Hugging Face Terms of Service

ConductAtlas Analysis

Institutional analysis (Compliance & governance intelligence)

REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision interacts with copyright law and open source license obligations across jurisdictions. For regulated industries, the use of open-source-licensed models in production systems may trigger compliance review requirements under applicable sector-specific frameworks. License compliance obligations for AI models are an emerging area of regulatory interest in the EU under the EU AI Act. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Medium. Organizations downloading and deploying models from Hugging Face must assess the applicable open source or other license terms attached to each model or dataset. Failure to comply with applicable license terms (such as attribution requirements, share-alike obligations, or commercial use restrictions) creates legal exposure independent of the Hugging Face Terms. JURISDICTION FLAGS: EU organizations should assess open source license compliance in the context of the EU AI Act's model transparency and documentation requirements. U.S. organizations in regulated industries (financial services, healthcare) should assess whether open-source-licensed model use is consistent with applicable regulatory requirements. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Procurement teams should conduct license reviews for any models or datasets downloaded from Hugging Face for commercial deployment. Standard SBOM (software bill of materials) practices should be applied to AI model provenance and licensing documentation. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Legal teams should establish a model and dataset license review process for all assets downloaded from Hugging Face. License notices must not be removed from content, which creates a documentation and audit trail obligation for organizations managing multiple model deployments.

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Regulatory citations, enforcement risk, and due diligence action items.

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Applicable regulations

DSA
European Union

Provision details

Document information
Document
Hugging Face Terms of Service
Entity
Hugging Face
Document last updated
May 5, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
May 11, 2026
Last verified
May 12, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-010792
Document ID
CA-D-00331
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
Content hash (SHA-256)
8ce2426fe4c652c69e1191fed441ac315d0276cfc94060f1988ef1cfe27a2b06
Analysis generated
May 11, 2026 06:05 UTC
Methodology
Evidence
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Hash verified
Citation Record
Entity: Hugging Face
Document: Hugging Face Terms of Service
Record ID: CA-P-010792
Captured: 2026-05-11 06:05:25 UTC
SHA-256: 8ce2426fe4c652c6…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/hugging-face/hugging-face-terms-of-service/open-source-license-preservation/
Accessed: July 4, 2026
Permanent archival reference. Stable identifier suitable for legal filings, compliance documentation, and research citation.
Classification
Severity
Medium
Categories

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does Hugging Face's Open Source License Preservation clause do?

This clause establishes that open source license terms attached to models, datasets, or code persist through access and redistribution on the platform, and that license notices cannot be stripped by any party.

How does this clause affect you?

Models and datasets published on Hugging Face with open source or other license notices retain those licenses when accessed, downloaded, or redistributed; users who download and use such content are bound by the original license terms regardless of how they obtained the content through the platform.

Is ConductAtlas affiliated with Hugging Face?

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