Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) for SAS Offerings

This AUP applies to the Customer’s use of any “Offering,” which includes Software, Consulting Services, Managed Cloud Services or any other offering made available by SAS or its subsidiaries and affiliates ("SAS") as set forth in the Order Form, Supplement or other contract entered into between Customer and SAS (the “Agreement”). Capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined herein shall have the meaning set forth in the Agreement.

The purpose of this AUP is to ensure that Offerings and all SAS computing resources are used in accordance with established guidelines, protect SAS resources from unauthorized use and misuse, and protect the integrity, availability and confidentiality of data processed by Offerings.

Violations of this AUP may result in SAS blocking the Customer’s access to the Offering or may result in termination. Any blocking or suspension by SAS would only occur after reasonable notice to the Customer unless SAS determines that serious and irreparable harm will likely occur without immediate action.

This AUP will be reviewed regularly to ensure it remains relevant and effective. SAS may update this AUP from time to time by posting a new version at this location.

Permitted Use

Customers may use Offerings for legitimate business purposes consistent with relevant agreements with SAS.

Unacceptable Use

Restrictions on Customer use of Offerings are organized based on the kinds of restrictions. General prohibitions are listed first, followed by restrictions for certain categories of higher-risk uses.

General Prohibitions

The following activities are considered unacceptable and are prohibited for all Offerings:

Engaging in illegal activities:

Using the Offering in any manner that is not in accordance with applicable international, national, state or local laws and regulations governing, among others, data privacy, artificial intelligence or algorithmic decision-making;
Using the Offering in any manner that leads to unlawful discrimination based on race, color, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, pregnancy, creed, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, citizenship status, status as a military spouse or any other legally protected characteristic;
Using the Offering in any manner that violates others’ rights (including privacy and IP rights);
Using the Offering to impersonate or attempt to impersonate any person or entity;
Using the Offering to download, store or distribute child pornography or other obscene or illegal materials;
Using the Offering in any manner that deprives any person of any due process right.

Harming people:

Using the Offering for the purpose of exploiting, harming or attempting to exploit or harm minors in any way by exposing them to inappropriate content, asking for personally identifiable information, or otherwise;
Using the Offering to send any material that is defamatory, harassing, offensive or otherwise reasonably objectionable;
Using the Offering in a manner where a malfunction could cause serious bodily injury, death or major damage to property or critical infrastructure;
Using the Offering to transmit, or procure the sending of, any advertising or promotional material, including any “junk mail,” “chain letter,” “spam” or any other similar solicitation;
Using the Offering to facilitate any terrorism, extremism, violence, spreading of false information or intimidation.

Use of an Offering without sufficient transparency:

Misleadingly presenting information generated by the Offering as human-generated where it is not;
Using the Offering in a manner reasonably calculated to deceive users into thinking they are communicating with a person if they are not.

Disrupting controls or availability of the Offering:

Accessing or attempting to access data or systems associated with the Offering without proper authorization;
Attempting to deactivate or circumvent security controls associated with the Offering;
Sharing accounts or passwords associated with the Offering in an unauthorized manner or with unauthorized individuals;
Hacking, spoofing or launching denial of service attacks against the Offering;
Distributing or attempting to distribute malicious software (malware) using the Offering;
Spying or attempting to install spyware or other unauthorized monitoring or surveillance tools in connection with the Offering;
Overwhelming servers or disrupting the Offering’s performance or functionality;
Automation or programmatic use of Offerings in ways beyond what is permitted by SAS or described in SAS Documentation is prohibited to prevent server overloads and ensure the software functions as intended;
Otherwise, attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Offering; or
Using the Offering for mining cryptocurrencies.

Requirements for Higher-Risk Uses

Some deployments of Offerings could involve increased risks to rights, safety, infrastructure or the environment, for example, deployments involving making decisions that impact individuals’ rights or safety; providing legal, medical, financial or other professional advice; processing biometric data; and those involving critical infrastructure, the environment; employment, migration, law enforcement, emergency services, voting, health care, insurance, financial services, housing or academic admissions or evaluations.

For deployments of Offerings in any of the areas with higher risk listed above, the Customer must comply with applicable laws involving any high-risk AI deployments or algorithmic decision-making. Whether or not already required by law, the Customer must also evaluate the risks and benefits of the deployment, provide meaningful human oversight and perform adequate testing. The Customer is responsible for its decisions based on analysis, reports, recommendations or scoring offered by Offerings.

Customer Models

The Offering may include modeling pipelines or other capabilities which the Customer may use to create models based on the Customer's data. The Customer has ownership of and is solely responsible for all results, outcomes or effects of development and deployment of any resulting models. Any model the Customer creates, or hires SAS to create through Consulting Services, is owned by the Customer. The Customer is also solely responsible for ensuring that any resulting models are used in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.