Disclaimers and Legal Notices

§ 1 — Status

The National Information Exchange Agency (NIEA) is a private limited liability company registered in the State of Texas. It is not a government agency. It is not affiliated with any federal, state, county, or municipal government body. Use of the word "Agency" in our name refers to the capacity to act, not to governmental authority or function. The NIEA has no regulatory power, no governmental mandate, and no authority over any person, institution, or economic record beyond the contractual relationships it enters voluntarily.

§ 2 — No Promises of Income or Return

The NIEA makes no representation, express or implied, that participation in any NIEA product or service will result in income, employment, credit, investment, or any other economic benefit to any person. A Capability Key, a contribution record, or any other NIEA-issued document or credential is a record of verified activity. It is not a guarantee of outcome. Economic outcomes depend on factors outside The NIEA's control, and The NIEA has no ability to promise, direct, or ensure any specific result for any participant.

Any communication from The NIEA that could be read as implying a specific economic outcome is an error, and we ask that such communications be reported to us at us@theniea.com so that they can be corrected.

§ 3 — No Funds Held or Moved

The NIEA does not hold, escrow, transfer, or intermediate the movement of funds of any kind. When an activity facilitated through an NIEA Contribution Network involves payment between parties, that payment occurs directly between those parties, outside of The NIEA's systems and outside of The NIEA's view. The NIEA is not a bank, a money services business, a payment processor, a crowdfunding platform, or a financial intermediary of any kind. The NIEA is not registered as any of the above and does not engage in activities that would require such registration.

§ 4 — EnvCoin and EnvDollar

EnvCoin (EC) and EnvDollar (USD-denominated balance on the NIEA platform, where applicable) are not cryptocurrencies, investment instruments, securities, or currency in any legal sense. EnvCoin cannot be converted to any fiat currency, transferred peer-to-peer for monetary value, or redeemed for cash by any means. EnvDollar balances, where they exist on the platform, are administrative ledger entries representing earned compensation that is disbursed according to applicable terms and through Stripe Connect or equivalent direct payout mechanisms; they are not deposits, are not FDIC-insured, and are not held by The NIEA as a custodian. Neither EnvCoin nor any other NIEA-denominated unit constitutes a regulated financial instrument.

§ 5 — Privacy and Data

The NIEA's privacy practices are governed by the NIEA Privacy Policy, available at this website. The following summary does not replace or supersede the full policy.

Contribution records on the NIEA platform are private by default. They are not visible to any party other than the contributor and parties explicitly authorized by the contributor. The NIEA does not sell contribution data, aggregate it for advertising purposes, or share it with any third party other than as described in the Privacy Policy or as required by applicable law.

Identity verification data collected in connection with The NIEA's verification processes is used solely for identity verification and fraud prevention. It is not used to build marketing profiles, sold to data brokers, or retained beyond the period necessary for its stated purpose.

NIEA implements technical and organizational measures designed to protect data against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. These measures are described in The NIEA's security documentation. No security measure is absolute, and The NIEA does not warrant that its systems are impenetrable.

§ 6 — Research and Longitudinal Study

NIEA conducts original research on the relationship between contribution legibility and economic outcomes. Participation in NIEA research studies is voluntary, separate from platform use, and governed by informed consent documents specific to each study. Research findings are reported in aggregate; individual-level data is not published. NIEA commits to publishing null and adverse findings with the same prominence as confirming findings. Research findings represent the results of study at a specific point in time and should not be interpreted as permanent conclusions.

§ 7 — Tax and Legal Advice

Nothing in any NIEA communication, product, service, research output, or public statement constitutes legal, tax, financial, employment, or regulatory advice. The NIEA's publications, including all items in the Reading Room, are informational only. Individuals and institutions should seek qualified professional advice for decisions in these domains.

The NIEA is an LLC. Payments to The NIEA (including event tickets, service fees, and any other transactions) are commercial transactions, not charitable contributions, and are not tax-deductible.

§ 8 — City Portal Partnerships

The NIEA's city portal relationships are commercial and civic partnerships between NIEA and local organizations. City portal relationships do not make NIEA an agent, contractor, or affiliate of any government body. Data displayed in city portals is provided by The NIEA and does not constitute official government data, official economic reporting, or official municipal statistics of any kind. City portal data is provided for informational and civic purposes.

§ 9 — Intellectual Property

The following are proprietary to The NIEA and protected by applicable intellectual property law: the NIEA name and marks; the Capability Key name, design, and credential architecture; the Contribution Network methodology; the Bank of Human History and Interaction (BHHI) name, architecture, and indexing system; the EnvCoin name and reward framework; the NIEA platform software and API; and all original content produced by The NIEA including this website, the Reading Room, and all research outputs. Reproduction or use of any of the above for commercial purposes without written authorization from The NIEA is prohibited.

The NIEA's research outputs, including articles in the Reading Room, may be cited in academic and journalistic contexts with attribution. Full reproduction requires written permission.

§ 10 — Prohibited Uses · Not a Consumer Reporting Agency

The NIEA is not a consumer reporting agency as defined under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq. The NIEA does not produce consumer reports. A Capability Key, contribution record, BHHI entry, or any other information generated, stored, or displayed by the NIEA platform is not a consumer report and is not intended or designed to function as one.

The following uses of any NIEA-generated information are expressly prohibited:

• Evaluating a person's eligibility for employment, promotion, reassignment, or retention as an employee
• Evaluating a person's eligibility for credit, insurance, housing, or any other purpose regulated under the FCRA
• Any other use for which a consumer report is required or customarily used under applicable federal or state law

Any party who accesses NIEA data — including Capability Keys, contribution histories, or Directory profiles — agrees, as a condition of access, that they will not use such information for any credit, employment, or FCRA-regulated purpose. The NIEA does not warrant or represent that its data meets the accuracy, completeness, or procedural requirements applicable to consumer reports under the FCRA, because NIEA data is not designed or intended to be used for those purposes.

If you become aware of any use of NIEA data for a prohibited purpose, report it to us@theniea.com with "Data Misuse" in the subject line.

§ 11 — Contact

Questions about these notices may be directed to us@theniea.com. Legal inquiries may be directed to the same address with "Legal" in the subject line.