Terms of Service

Purpose of the Service

MeldenApp is a free intermediary platform that enables citizens to report deficiencies and problems in public spaces (e.g. potholes, defective street lighting, illegal fly-tipping, graffiti, damaged traffic infrastructure) to the responsible authorities.

Role as Intermediary

The Operator acts exclusively as a technical intermediary between End Users and Institutions. The Operator is not a representative, agent, or vicarious agent of any authority or other public body. The use of the Service does not create a contractual relationship between the End User and the respective Institution.

MeldenApp is an independent, private service and has no connection to any governmental, administrative, or municipal authority. MeldenApp is not a governmental or municipal body and does not act on behalf of any such body.

Scope of Services

The Service includes in particular the following functions:

• Receipt of reports about deficiencies in public spaces, including location, description, and photographs
• Automatic identification of the potentially responsible authority based on the location and category of the report, including with the assistance of artificial intelligence
• Forwarding of the report by e-mail to the identified responsible body
• Provision of a tracking ID (format: MLN-YYYY-XXXXXX) to track the status of the report
• Notification of End Users about status changes and responses from Institutions
• Provision of a portal for Institutions to receive and manage reports (partially under development)
• AI-assisted image analysis to support the categorisation of reports

Free of Charge

The use of the Service is entirely free of charge for End Users and Institutions. No fees, subscription costs, or other charges apply. The Operator reserves the right to introduce paid additional features in the future, whereby existing free features shall remain unaffected.

Use Without Registration

Reports may also be submitted without registering a user account (anonymous report). For anonymous reports, the provision of personal data is voluntary. Anonymous users must consent to the processing of the data provided in accordance with the Privacy Policy before submitting their report.

Registration of a User Account

Registration of a user account is required to use certain functions (e.g. overview of all own reports, notifications). The following details are required upon registration:

• Name
• E-mail address (must be verified)
• Password

Obligations Upon Registration

The user is obliged to:

• Provide truthful and complete information upon registration
• Create only one user account per natural person
• Keep access credentials (in particular the password) confidential and protect them from access by third parties
• Inform the Operator without delay if there is reason to suspect that third parties have gained knowledge of the access credentials

Minimum Age

Registration of a user account requires a minimum age of 16 years. Persons under the age of 16 may only use the Service with the consent of a parent or legal guardian.

Registration of Institutions

Authorities, municipalities, and other eligible Institutions may register for portal access. The registration of an Institution requires activation by the Operator. There is no entitlement to activation.

Approval Process

The Operator reviews the registration request and reserves the right to refuse activation without stating reasons. Activation may be refused in particular if:

• The Institution cannot be identified as a public or responsible body
• The details provided cannot be verified
• There are indications of an intention to misuse the portal access

Obligations of Institutions

Registered Institutions undertake to:

• Use portal access exclusively for official purposes in connection with the processing of citizen reports
• Treat portal access credentials confidentially and make them accessible only to authorised staff members
• Process personal data transmitted via the Service exclusively within the framework of the applicable statutory provisions (in particular the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR))
• Inform the Operator of changes to jurisdiction, contact details, or organisational structure

E-mail Forwarding and Reply Mechanism

Reports are forwarded by e-mail to the contact address stored for the Institution. Institutions may respond directly to reports via a reply-to mechanism. Responses are made accessible to the End User via the Platform.

Truthful Information

• Reports must be created truthfully, factually accurately, and to the best of the user's knowledge
• Only deficiencies or problems in public spaces that actually exist may be reported
• Location details must reflect the actual location of the deficiency
• Descriptions and photographs must be directly related to the reported deficiency

Lawful Use

• The user must comply with all applicable laws and regulations
• The Service may not be used for unlawful purposes
• The user must not take any actions that could impair the operation, security, or integrity of the Service
• Automated retrieval of content or mass creation of reports (e.g. via bots or scripts) is prohibited

Due Care When Uploading Photographs

When uploading photographs, the user is obliged to ensure that:

• No persons are depicted in an identifiable manner (faces, vehicle registration plates, etc. are to be avoided where possible or rendered unrecognisable)
• No photographs are uploaded that violate the right of third parties to control the use of their own image
• The photographs were taken by the user themselves or the user holds the necessary usage rights

Content Prohibitions

• Creating false, fabricated, or knowingly misleading reports
• Reporting matters that do not correspond to the purpose of the Service (e.g. private disputes, personal complaints against individuals)
• Naming, accusing, or identifying private individuals in reports (e.g. by naming them, uploading recognisable photographs, or providing private individuals' addresses)
• Uploading content that is insulting, defamatory, discriminatory, racist, glorifying violence, or otherwise unlawful
• Uploading content of a pornographic or offensive nature
• Threats or intimidation directed at persons, Institutions, or authorities
• Advertising, spam, commercial offers, or political propaganda

Misuse of the Service

• Mass or automated creation of reports
• Repeatedly reporting the same matter with the intention of disrupting operations
• Attempting to gain unauthorised access to systems, databases, or user accounts of the Service
• Circumventing technical security measures (e.g. rate limiting)
• Using the Service under a false identity or with falsified information
• Uploading files containing malware, viruses, or other harmful programmes

Copyright and Third-Party Rights

• Uploading copyright-protected content for which the user does not hold usage rights
• Infringing trade mark rights, personality rights, or other third-party rights

Emergencies

MeldenApp is NOT an emergency service. In the event of emergencies, acute danger to life and limb, or criminal offences, please contact the relevant emergency services immediately:

• Police: 110
• Fire brigade / Ambulance service: 112

Reports about emergencies or acute dangerous situations submitted via the Platform cannot be processed or forwarded in real time and do not replace an emergency call.

Ownership of User Content

The user retains all rights to the content they have created (texts, descriptions, photographs). Creating a report does not constitute a transfer of copyright to the Operator.

Grant of Usage Rights

By creating a report, the user grants the Operator the following non-exclusive, geographically and temporally unrestricted usage rights:

• The right to use, store, and transmit the report content (including photographs) for the purpose of forwarding to the responsible authority
• The right to display the report content on the Platform (e.g. status page, tracking view)
• The right to process the content for the purpose of AI-assisted analysis and categorisation
• The right to use anonymised or aggregated data from reports for statistical purposes and to improve the Service

This grant of rights serves exclusively the operation and improvement of the Service. The Operator does not commercially exploit user content (e.g. by selling it to third parties).

User's Warranty

The user warrants that they hold the necessary rights to the content they have uploaded and that such content does not infringe the rights of third parties. Should third parties assert claims against the Operator on account of infringement of their rights by user content, the user is obliged to indemnify the Operator in accordance with Section 12.

Operator's Content

The design, source code, logos, trade marks, and other content of the Platform are protected by copyright and are the property of the Operator or its licensors. Reproduction, distribution, or any other use requires the prior written consent of the Operator.

Identification of the Responsible Body

The Operator identifies the potentially responsible authority or Institution on the basis of the location and category of the report. For this purpose, both a database of registered Institutions and AI-assisted research of publicly available contact data are used.

The Operator does not guarantee the accuracy of the determination of jurisdiction. It is the responsibility of the contacted authority to forward the report internally where appropriate or to inform the Operator of an incorrect assignment.

Nature and Scope of Forwarding

Reports are forwarded by e-mail to the identified body. The e-mail contains the report content (title, description, location, category) as well as attached photographs. If the End User has voluntarily provided contact details (name, e-mail address, telephone number), these are also transmitted.

No Guarantee of Delivery and Processing

The Operator endeavours to the best of its ability to forward reports reliably to the responsible body. However, no guarantee is given for the successful delivery of the e-mail, its receipt, acknowledgement, or processing by the authority. In particular, the decision as to whether a report is processed rests solely with the responsible authority.

Responses from Authorities

Institutions may respond to reports by e-mail via a reply-to mechanism. The Operator forwards these responses to the relevant End User, provided that contact details are available or a user account exists. The Operator has no influence over the content of authority responses and accepts no responsibility therefor.

Operator's Liability

The Operator is liable without limitation in accordance with statutory provisions for damages arising from injury to life, body, or health that are based on an intentional or negligent breach of duty by the Operator or its legal representatives or vicarious agents, as well as for damages covered by the Product Liability Act, and for damages based on intentional or grossly negligent breaches of contract by the Operator.

Limitation of Liability

In the event of a slightly negligent breach of a material contractual obligation (cardinal obligation), the Operator's liability is limited to the foreseeable, typically occurring damage. Material contractual obligations are obligations whose fulfilment makes the proper performance of the contract possible in the first place and on whose compliance the user may regularly rely.

Otherwise, the Operator's liability for damages caused by slight negligence is excluded.

Exclusion of Liability for Third-Party Content and Authority Actions

The Operator is not liable for:

• Actions or omissions by authorities or Institutions in the processing of forwarded reports
• The accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of responses from authorities
• The actual remediation of reported deficiencies — the decision thereon rests solely with the responsible authority
• The accuracy of the automatically determined jurisdiction of an authority
• Content created by users and transmitted via the Platform (user-generated content), provided that the Operator has no knowledge of its unlawfulness (§ 7 DDG)
• Damages arising from disruptions to the internet connection, e-mail delivery, or other technical systems outside the Operator's sphere of influence
• Damages caused by force majeure, natural disasters, pandemics, official orders, or other circumstances beyond the Operator's control

Responsibility Pursuant to the DDG

For the Operator's own content on the Platform, the Operator is responsible pursuant to § 7 para. 1 DDG (Digital Services Act) in accordance with general law. Pursuant to §§ 8 to 10 DDG, the Operator as a service provider is not obliged to monitor transmitted or stored third-party information or to investigate circumstances indicating unlawful activity. Obligations to remove or block the use of information in accordance with general law remain unaffected.

Termination by the User

Registered users may delete their user account at any time and without stating reasons. Deletion can be carried out via the account settings on the Platform. The user relationship ends upon deletion of the user account.

Termination by the Operator

The Operator is entitled to block or delete user accounts at any time and without prior notice, in particular if:

• The user violates these Terms of Use
• There is reasonable suspicion that the user is misusing the Service
• The user provided false information upon registration
• The user's use of the Service endangers its operation or other users
• Statutory or official obligations require the blocking or deletion

Consequences of Termination

Following deletion of the user account, the user's personal data will be deleted, provided no statutory retention obligations exist. Reports that have already been forwarded remain in the system but are no longer associated with the deleted user account. Further information on data deletion can be found in the Privacy Policy.

Blocking and Restriction

As a less severe measure instead of account deletion, the Operator may temporarily or permanently restrict the use of individual functions. The affected user will be informed of the measure and the reasons therefor, provided this does not jeopardise the purpose of the measure.

Applicable Law

The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). In relation to consumers within the meaning of § 13 BGB, this choice of law applies only to the extent that the mandatory provisions of the law of the state in which the consumer has their habitual residence do not afford greater protection.

Place of Jurisdiction

If the user is a merchant, a legal person under public law, or a special fund under public law, or has no general place of jurisdiction in Germany, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from or in connection with this user relationship shall be Munich.

Online Dispute Resolution

The European Commission provides a platform for online dispute resolution (ODR): https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/. The Operator is neither obliged nor willing to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.

Severability Clause

Should individual provisions of these Terms of Use be or become wholly or partially invalid or unenforceable, the validity of the remaining provisions shall not be affected thereby. The invalid or unenforceable provision shall be replaced by the valid and enforceable provision that comes closest to the economic purpose of the provision that has lapsed. The same shall apply to any gaps in the provisions.

Written Form Requirement

Collateral agreements, amendments, and supplements to these Terms of Use require text form (§ 126b BGB). This also applies to the waiver of this written form requirement.

Contact

If you have any questions about these Terms of Use, please contact: Jonas Bergert E-mail: kontakt@meldenapp.de Website: https://meldenapp.de