You are responsible for anything you post on Udemy, and Udemy can remove any content it decides is objectionable, even if it does not clearly violate the stated rules.
This analysis describes what Udemy'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
Udemy retains discretionary authority to remove your content without being limited to defined rule violations, which means instructor course materials could be removed based on subjective determinations.
Instructors who have invested significant time and resources in creating course content may have that content removed by Udemy based on a discretionary judgment, without a guaranteed appeals process, which could affect their income and platform standing.
How other platforms handle this
When you use Microsoft services, you must comply with Microsoft's Code of Conduct. Prohibited conduct includes using the services to do anything illegal, transmitting content that is harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Microsof...
You are responsible for your use of the Services and for any Content, including anything referenced therein, you provide, create, post, or otherwise utilize, including any inputs, prompts, outputs, and/or information obtained or created through the Services. It is your responsibility to comply with ...
Don't use AI to generate content that could unduly influence elections, including targeted political messaging, voting misinformation, or political rhetoric at scale.
Monitoring
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"You are solely responsible for the content that you post, upload, or otherwise make available through the Services. Udemy may, in its sole discretion, remove or disable access to any content that violates these Terms or that Udemy determines, in its sole discretion, is otherwise objectionable.— Excerpt from Udemy's Udemy Terms of Use
(1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: Content moderation authority in platform terms engages Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in the US, which generally protects platforms from liability for moderating third-party content. In the EU, the Digital Services Act imposes transparency and appeals requirements on platforms of varying size for content moderation decisions, which may interact with this clause for EU users. (2) GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Low to Medium. The 'sole discretion' and 'otherwise objectionable' language is standard in platform content moderation terms. However, for instructors with significant course libraries, the lack of a defined appeals process creates operational and financial risk. (3) JURISDICTION FLAGS: EU users benefit from Digital Services Act protections that require platforms to provide transparent content moderation and accessible appeals mechanisms, which may limit how Udemy can apply this clause in practice for EU-based content. This represents a meaningful gap between what the terms assert and what EU-applicable regulatory obligations may require. (4) CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Organizations publishing proprietary training content on Udemy should assess the risk that course materials could be removed under this discretionary authority and whether backup hosting or content preservation strategies are warranted. (5) COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Instructors and institutional users should maintain independent copies of all uploaded course content, as Udemy's right to remove content without cause could affect access to training materials used for compliance certification purposes.
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Udemy retains discretionary authority to remove your content without being limited to defined rule violations, which means instructor course materials could be removed based on subjective determinations.
Instructors who have invested significant time and resources in creating course content may have that content removed by Udemy based on a discretionary judgment, without a guaranteed appeals process, which could affect their income and platform standing.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 1 platforms. See the full comparison.
No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Udemy.