Effective Date: June 28, 2026 Last Updated: June 28, 2026
Welcome to Friction (thefriction.live), operated by [Legal Entity Name, e.g., “Friction Media LLC” — insert once formed] (“Friction,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). These Terms of Use (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of our website, content, and services (collectively, the “Site”). By accessing or using the Site, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Site.
1. Eligibility
You must be at least 16 years old to use the Site. By using the Site, you represent that you meet this requirement. If you are using the Site on behalf of an organization, you represent that you have the authority to bind that organization to these Terms.
2. Description of Service
Friction provides news, analysis, and commentary on geopolitics and global affairs. Content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute professional, financial, legal, or investment advice.
3. Editorial Content and Opinions
All articles, analysis, and commentary published on the Site reflect the views of the authors and Friction at the time of publication. We strive for accuracy but make no warranties regarding the completeness, reliability, or timeliness of any content. Geopolitical events evolve rapidly, and information may become outdated.
We reserve the right to correct, update, or remove content at our discretion, including issuing retractions where warranted.
4. User Accounts
If the Site offers account registration or subscription services:
- You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials
- You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account
- You must provide accurate and current information
- We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms
5. Subscriptions and Payments
If you purchase a paid subscription or membership:
- Fees are billed in advance on a recurring basis unless otherwise stated
- All payments are processed through secure third-party payment processors; we do not store full payment card information
- Subscriptions automatically renew unless cancelled prior to the renewal date
- Refunds are provided at our sole discretion unless otherwise required by law
- We reserve the right to change subscription pricing with reasonable advance notice
6. Acceptable Use
You agree not to:
- Use the Site for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable law
- Reproduce, distribute, or republish Site content without express written permission, except for personal, non-commercial use with proper attribution
- Scrape, data-mine, or use automated systems to extract content from the Site without authorization
- Interfere with or disrupt the Site’s servers, networks, or security features
- Impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity
- Upload or transmit viruses, malware, or any other harmful code
- Use the Site to harass, defame, or harm others
We reserve the right to suspend or terminate access for any user who violates these Terms.
7. Intellectual Property
All content on the Site — including articles, graphics, logos, branding, and design elements — is the property of Friction or its licensors and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.
You may share links to our content and quote brief excerpts with proper attribution and a link back to the original article. You may not reproduce full articles or substantial portions of our content without prior written consent.
8. User-Submitted Content
If the Site allows comments, submissions, or other user-generated content:
- You retain ownership of content you submit, but grant Friction a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, and display that content in connection with operating the Site
- You are solely responsible for content you submit and represent that it does not violate any law or third-party right
- We reserve the right to remove any user-submitted content at our discretion, including content we deem inappropriate, false, or harmful
9. Third-Party Links and Content
The Site may contain links to third-party websites or reference third-party content. We do not control and are not responsible for the content, accuracy, or practices of third-party sites. Inclusion of a link does not imply endorsement.
10. Disclaimers
THE SITE AND ALL CONTENT ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR ACCURACY.
We do not warrant that the Site will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free. Geopolitical analysis involves inherent uncertainty, and we make no guarantees regarding the accuracy of predictions, forecasts, or analysis published on the Site.
11. Limitation of Liability
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, FRICTION, ITS OWNERS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND AFFILIATES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SITE OR RELIANCE ON ANY CONTENT, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING FROM THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF THE SITE SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US, IF ANY, IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM.
Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, so some of the above limitations may not apply to you.
12. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Friction and its owners, employees, contributors, and affiliates from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your use of the Site, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any third-party right.
13. Termination
We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your access to the Site at any time, with or without notice, for conduct that we believe violates these Terms or is otherwise harmful to other users, us, or third parties.
14. Modifications to Terms
We may revise these Terms at any time. Updated Terms will be posted on this page with a revised “Last Updated” date. Your continued use of the Site after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. We encourage you to review these Terms periodically.
15. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, United States, without regard to conflict of law principles, unless otherwise required by applicable local law.
Any disputes arising from these Terms or your use of the Site shall first be addressed through good-faith informal negotiation. If unresolved within 30 days, disputes shall be resolved through binding arbitration on an individual basis, except where prohibited by law, and you waive any right to participate in a class action.
16. Severability
If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
17. Entire Agreement
These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Friction regarding your use of the Site and supersede any prior agreements.
18. Contact Us
If you have questions about these Terms, contact us at:
Email: official@thefriction.live Site: thefriction.live
These Terms of Use were last reviewed and updated on June 28, 2026.