Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)
PART I - PURPOSE AND SCOPE
Article 1. Purpose
1.1. This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") sets out the conduct that is permitted, restricted and prohibited when using HiTechCloud's Services. Its purpose is to maintain order across shared systems, prevent abuse, protect Customers and third parties from legal and technical risk, and comply with Vietnamese law and applicable international law. The AUP elaborates on Clause 7 (prohibited conduct) of the Terms of Service.
Article 2. Scope of application
2.1. The AUP applies to every Customer, end user, sub-account, reseller and third party that accesses or uses any HiTechCloud service (hosting, cloud, email, AI/MaaS, domains, SSL, storage, telecommunications and other services).
Legal basis:
- the Cybersecurity Law 2025 (Luật An ninh mạng 2025 — Law No. 116/2025/QH15, consolidated, replacing the Cybersecurity Law 2018 and the Law on Network Information Security 2015), on prohibited conduct and the protection of cybersecurity;
- E-Commerce Law 2025 (Luật số 122/2025/QH15);
- Law on Artificial Intelligence 2025 (Law No. 134/2025/QH15);
- Law on Personal Data Protection 2025 (Law No. 91/2025/QH15);
- Decree 356/2025/NĐ-CP;
- Decree 147/2024/ND-CP on the management, provision, and use of internet services and online information;
- Decree 91/2020/ND-CP on combating spam messages, spam email, and spam calls;
- Decree 174/2026/ND-CP on administrative penalties in the fields of post, telecommunications, radio frequencies, electronic transactions, and information technology;
- The Penal Code 2015 (Bộ luật Hình sự 2015), as amended and supplemented in 2017 (Articles 285–294 on crimes in the field of information technology and telecommunications networks; Article 326 on distributing depraved cultural products; Article 147 on using persons under 16 for pornographic purposes; Article 174 on fraudulent appropriation of property).
PART II – PROHIBITED CONDUCT
Article 3. Breaches of Vietnamese and international law
3.1. Customer commitments no using the Service to: (a) publish, store or transmit content directed against the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, or that incites violence or ethnic or religious hatred, under the Cybersecurity Law 2025; (b) spread false information, defame, or offend the honor and dignity of an organization or individual; (c) engage in terrorism, terrorist financing or money laundering (see the Anti-Money Laundering Policy); (d) undermine national security, public order or territorial sovereignty; (e) conduct unlicensed gambling or betting, prostitution or drug activity; (f) sell or trade goods and services that are prohibited or restricted by law.
Article 4. Pornographic and violent content and child abuse
4.1. Strictly prohibited: (a) all pornographic and obscene content (Article 326 of the Penal Code 2015 (Bộ luật Hình sự 2015)); (b) all child sexual abuse material (CSAM) — HiTechCloud operates a zero-tolerance policy, reports immediately to the Ministry of Public Security and, where applicable, cooperates with domestic and international child protection and law enforcement organizations such as NCMEC and INTERPOL; (c) content inciting violence, self-harm, suicide or animal cruelty.
Article 5. Network attacks and technical abuse
5.1. The Service may not be used to carry out or support: (a) DDoS attacks, brute-force attacks, SQL injection, XSS or RCE against any system the Customer does not own and for which written consent has not been given; (b) distribution of malware, viruses, ransomware, worms, trojans, spyware, adware or cryptojackers; (c) phishing, fraud, impersonation of organizations or individuals, or spoofing of websites or email; (d) vulnerability scanning, port scanning or network mapping against non-consenting third parties; (e) operation of C&C servers, botnets or malware control systems; (f) use of resources in any other activity that damages systems on the internet.
5.2. It is prohibited to exploit AI/deepfake technology to create or distribute fake content, to manipulate perception, to commit fraud or to infringe the rights of third parties, in accordance with the Law on Cybersecurity 2025 (Luật An ninh mạng 2025) and the Law on Artificial Intelligence 2025 (Luật Trí tuệ nhân tạo 2025).
Article 6. Spam and unsolicited messages
6.1. Sending advertising email, SMS, OTT messages or automated calls without the recipient's opt-in consent is prohibited, under Decree 91/2020/NĐ-CP.
6.2. Default outbound email thresholds: 500 emails/hour/IP for Shared Hosting; 5,000 emails/hour for VPS. Exceeding the threshold requires a dedicated Email Relay service with an AUP compliance undertaking.
Article 7. Resource abuse
7.1. Prohibited: (a) cryptocurrency mining on VPS, Shared Hosting and Cloud GPU, unless a dedicated service package with a corresponding AUP commitment has been purchased; (b) sustained use of more than 80% of CPU, RAM or I/O resources for 24 consecutive hours on Shared Hosting; (c) operating a torrent tracker or seeding files that infringe copyright; (d) operating an unauthorized paid proxy/VPN service for end users, unless the appropriate service has been purchased.
Article 8. Intellectual property infringement and third-party rights
8.1. Publishing, storing or transmitting content that infringes a third party's copyright, trademarks, patents, industrial designs or trade secrets is prohibited (see the Intellectual Property Terms).
8.2. On receiving a notice under the DMCA mechanism or a valid intellectual property complaint, HiTechCloud has the right to remove the content, require the Customer to respond, and apply the notice-and-takedown process under the Intellectual Property Terms.
PART III – ENFORCEMENT MECHANISM
Article 9. Violation detection
9.1. HiTechCloud detects AUP violations through: automated technical monitoring (rate limiting, anomaly detection); reports from Customers and users (under the Abuse Reporting Policy); notices from state authorities; and notices from third parties (RIR, RBL, partners).
Article 10. Severity levels and enforcement actions
10.1. Level 1 – Warning: send a warning email or ticket requiring remediation within 24–72 hours.
10.2. Level 2 – Restriction: resource limits (rate limiting, IP reputation downgrade) and temporary disabling of specific features.
10.3. Level 3 – Suspension: suspend the related service for 7–30 days so the Customer can remediate.
10.4. Level 4 – Termination: unilateral termination of the contract for a serious breach (CSAM, terrorism, large-scale fraud, cyber attack) — effective immediately, with no refund, under Article 5 of the Refund Policy and Article 26 of the Terms of Service.
10.5. Level 5 – Referral to the competent authority: provide data to the police authorities upon lawful request, in accordance with the Abuse Reporting Policy and applicable law.
10.6. In response to a lawful request from a competent authority, HiTechCloud removes infringing information within a maximum of 24 hours (in normal cases) or 6 hours (in national security emergencies), in accordance with the Law on Cybersecurity 2025 (Luật An ninh mạng 2025).
Article 11. Appealing a decision
11.1. Customers may appeal an AUP decision by email khieunai@photuesoftware.com (or report@photuesoftware.com) within 7 days of receiving the notice. The matter is handled under the Complaint and Dispute Resolution Procedure; if it is demonstrated that no violation occurred, HiTechCloud restores the service or content within a reasonable time, unless a competent authority requires otherwise.
PART IV – CUSTOMER COMMITMENTS AND EFFECTIVE DATE
Article 12. Customer responsibilities
12.1. The Customer is fully responsible for the content, conduct and resource usage on its account, including where these originate from a sub-account, a reseller or an end user.
12.2. The Customer must cooperate with investigations, supply logs and evidence, and carry out the remedial measures HiTechCloud requires within the stated deadline.
12.3. The Customer is liable to compensate HiTechCloud for all losses it suffers as a result of an AUP breach, including direct damages, reputational damage, legal fees and crisis management costs, in accordance with Article 23 of the Terms of Service.
Article 13. Effect
13.1. This AUP takes effect on 1 July 2026 and forms an integral part of the Terms of Service. It is reviewed at least once every 12 months. Continued use of the Service after the AUP is updated constitutes the Customer's acceptance of the new version. The Vietnamese-language version has the highest legal validity.
