ARIA Partner & Affiliate Program Agreement

01. Independent Contractor Status (No Employment or Agency)

The Affiliate Marketer ("Partner", "Affiliate", or "You") enters into this Agreement strictly as an Independent Contractor. Nothing in this Agreement, the ARIA Partner Portal, or promotional collateral shall be construed to create:

• An employer-employee relationship, agency, joint venture, franchise, or legal partnership between ARIA Technologies and the Affiliate.
• Any authority for the Affiliate to bind, obligate, make commitments on behalf of, sign contracts for, or assume liabilities for ARIA Technologies or its founder, Jameel Rashid.
• The term "Partner" is deployed solely as commercial marketing nomenclature and confers zero equity, ownership, voting rights, or corporate authority whatsoever.

02. Mandatory FTC Disclosures & Consumer Protection Laws

Affiliates must strictly adhere to all applicable international advertising standards, including the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (16 CFR Part 255) and the Kenya Consumer Protection Act (No. 46 of 2012):

• Mandatory Disclosure Rule: Whenever and wherever an Affiliate posts, tweets, blogs, broadcasts, or shares their ARIA referral link (on TikTok, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, Facebook, X, websites, or messaging groups), the Affiliate MUST clearly and conspicuously disclose that they receive financial compensation if the viewer registers or subscribes.
• Accepted Disclosures: Acceptable disclosures include clear indicators such as: #ad, #affiliate, #paidcommission, or explicit text stating: "I earn a 30% commission if you purchase ARIA Pro through this link."
• Placement: Disclosures must be prominent, easily legible without clicking "see more", and placed immediately adjacent to the referral link or recommendation.
• Failure to Disclose: Failure to provide required disclosures constitutes an unlawful deceptive marketing practice under consumer law and will lead to immediate account termination.

03. Strict Prohibition on Self-Referrals & Fraud (Zero Tolerance)

The ARIA Affiliate Program is engineered exclusively to reward the authentic acquisition of genuine third-party student subscribers. The following actions are strictly deemed fraud:

• Self-Referrals Prohibited: Affiliates may NOT use their own referral link to purchase subscriptions for themselves, secondary accounts, or members of their immediate household to obtain an effective 30% price discount.
• Automated & Synthetic Traffic: The deployment of bots, automated scraping scripts, synthetic click rings, iframe embedding, or cookie stuffing (firing referral pixels without an intentional user click) is strictly forbidden.
• Payment Laundering & Reversal Abuse: Signing up with stolen cards, unauthorized M-Pesa accounts, or initiating rapid payment reversals after commission settlement is considered criminal fraud under the Kenya Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act and will be referred to law enforcement.

04. Anti-Spam Policy & Communication Standards

ARIA maintains a zero-tolerance policy against unsolicited communications. Affiliates must comply with the Kenya Data Protection Act (2019) and international anti-spam standards:

• No Unsolicited Bulk Messaging: Affiliates may not send spam emails, automated mass WhatsApp blasts to unknown numbers, cold telemarketing SMS messages, or use automated dialers.
• No Hijacking Official ARIA Spaces: Affiliates may NOT post referral links within ARIA's official social media comment sections, support community channels, Google Play comments, or direct student help desks to hijack organic users.
• Opt-In Consent: Affiliates must only promote ARIA to individuals who have consented to receive messages or within public or opt-in educational forums where educational recommendations are permitted.

05. Brand Representation & Trademark Protection

To protect ARIA's educational integrity and brand reputation, Affiliates agree to the following marketing restrictions:

• Prohibited PPC & Search Engine Bidding: Affiliates are strictly prohibited from bidding on trademarked keywords (including but not limited to: "ARIA", "ARIA AI", "ARIA Assistant", "ARIA School OS", "ariainterface.online", or common misspellings) on Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Meta Ads, TikTok Ads, or any pay-per-click network without express written authorization.
• No Impersonation: Affiliates may not claim to be employees, official administrators, customer support representatives, or executive staff of ARIA Technologies.
• No False Academic Promises: Affiliates may not guarantee academic grades (e.g., claiming "ARIA guarantees an A plain on KCSE"), promise leakages of examination materials, or claim official endorsement by the Ministry of Education or KNEC unless officially validated.

06. Commission Qualification, Tracking & Attribution

• Commission Rate: The standard commission rate is thirty percent (30%) of the net subscription payment actually received and cleared by ARIA for eligible paid plans (e.g. ARIA Pro).
• Net Payment Definition: Net payment equals the gross student payment minus payment processing fees (e.g. PesaPal / M-Pesa merchant charges), applicable value-added taxes (VAT), chargebacks, and transaction reversals.
• Attribution Cookie Window: Tracking cookies maintain an attribution duration of up to thirty (30) days. If a user clears their browser cache, uses private browsing mode that rejects cookies, or accesses the site via another marketer's link, ARIA's automated last-attribution rule governs.
• Disqualified Transactions: Free trials, unpaid accounts, promotional free access codes, refunded payments, and test transactions generate zero commission.

07. Payout Schedule & M-Pesa Settlement Terms

• Payout Method: Commissions are disbursed directly via M-Pesa to the verified mobile telephone number registered in the Partner's profile.
• Anti-Fraud Clearing Period: To protect against chargebacks, refund requests, and fraudulent transactions, commissions remain in a Pending Balance state for a minimum of fourteen (14) calendar days before becoming eligible for cash settlement.
• Audit & Manual Verification: The ARIA Operations Command Center performs manual audits of all pending transactions prior to disbursement to ensure zero self-referrals and valid PesaPal tracking IDs (orderTrackingId).
• Reversal Deductions: If a student subscription is refunded or reversed after commission has been credited, the commission amount will be deducted from the Affiliate's pending or future balance.

08. Taxes & Regulatory Compliance

The Affiliate acknowledges and agrees that they are exclusively responsible for complying with all applicable tax laws in their home jurisdiction.

• Affiliates are solely responsible for declaring, reporting, and paying all personal or commercial income taxes, withholding taxes, or regulatory levies owed on commission payments to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) or local revenue authorities.
• ARIA Technologies does not provide tax advice, does not withhold payroll taxes, and will issue commission records in accordance with standard business-to-business contractor reporting.

09. Modification, Suspension & At-Will Termination

• Right to Terminate: ARIA Technologies reserves the unilateral right to suspend, terminate, or cancel any Affiliate's account and participation in the Partner Program at any time, with or without cause, upon written notice or immediate portal deactivation.
• Program Modification: ARIA reserves the right to modify commission rates, attribution cookie duration, eligibility criteria, or program rules at any time by posting an updated agreement to this URL. Continued participation following modifications constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.
• Termination for Cause: If an account is terminated for breach of anti-spam laws, self-referrals, trademark violations, or fraudulent manipulation, all accrued and unpaid balances are instantly forfeit.

10. Indemnification & Comprehensive Hold Harmless

The Affiliate agrees to fully defend, indemnify, and hold harmless ARIA Technologies, its founder Jameel Rashid, its developers, agents, and affiliates from and against any and all third-party claims, lawsuits, investigations, administrative proceedings, regulatory fines, damages, settlements, and legal defense fees arising out of or related to:

• The Affiliate's breach of any provision of this Agreement or applicable laws.
• Any false, misleading, defamatory, or unauthorized claims made by the Affiliate concerning ARIA.
• Any spamming, unsolicited messaging, or privacy violations committed by the Affiliate.
• Any tax liabilities or penalties assessed against the Affiliate by revenue authorities.

11. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY & MAXIMUM CAP

12. Governing Law & Binding Arbitration

This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Kenya, without regard to conflicts of law principles.

• Informal Negotiation: In the event of any disagreement, the parties agree to engage in direct informal resolution for thirty (30) days via email at ariaassistantsupport@gmail.com.
• Arbitration: Any unresolved dispute shall be resolved exclusively through final and binding arbitration administered in Nairobi, Kenya, in the English language.
• Severability: If any provision of this Agreement is deemed unenforceable or invalid by an arbitrator or court of competent jurisdiction, all remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.