Who This Page Is For
This page is for law enforcement agencies, regulators and legal professionals who need data from Lewdly, or who need content removed through a legal process.
If you are a member of the public, you do not need any of this. To have content taken down, including content depicting you, use our Content Removal Policy, which is faster and does not require a lawyer. To report content involving a minor, email removals@lewdly.ai and we will act immediately.
How to Send a Request
Send requests to legal@lewdly.ai, on official letterhead, from an official government or agency email domain. Put the words LAW ENFORCEMENT REQUEST in the subject line.
We do not accept requests by telephone, social media or private message, and we cannot act on a request we cannot authenticate. We may contact the issuing agency through its published details to verify a request before responding to it.
What a Request Must Contain
A request we can act on includes all of the following. Anything missing means we have to come back to you, which costs both of us time.
- The issuing authority, the officer or official responsible, and a direct means of contacting them.
- The legal basis for the request, and a copy of the order, warrant or instrument relied on.
- A specific identifier for the account or content. An account email address, a username, a direct URL or a transaction reference. We cannot search on a real name, because we do not collect one.
- A precise description of the data sought. Requests for everything you hold are too broad for us to act on.
- The date range the request covers.
- A case or reference number, and the deadline you are working to.
- A signature from the responsible official.
The Legal Process We Require
We require legal process that is valid in [GOVERNING JURISDICTION], or a request transmitted through a recognised channel of international cooperation such as a mutual legal assistance treaty or a letter rogatory. A request sent directly by an authority in another country is generally not something we can act on, and we will say so rather than leave you waiting.
We distinguish between basic account information and the content of what a user generated or said. Content is more sensitive and we produce it only where compelled by an order that is valid for content specifically, not by a general request for records.
We review every request for validity and scope. We will narrow or refuse a request that is overbroad, unclear, or not supported by the process it cites, and we will explain why so that it can be reissued properly.
Emergency Requests
Where there is an imminent risk of death or serious physical harm to someone, send the request marked EMERGENCY DISCLOSURE REQUEST in the subject line and we will treat it accordingly.
Set out the nature of the emergency, who is at risk, why the data requested will help address it, and why there is no time for normal process. Where the law permits voluntary disclosure in these circumstances, we may disclose without waiting for an order. We assess each one on what it says, and a request marked emergency that is not one will be handled as a normal request.
Child Safety
Reports concerning a minor are our highest priority and they do not wait for legal process. Content is removed on report, the account is preserved and terminated, and the matter is escalated internally.
We will preserve relevant records on request while you obtain whatever process you need. Where the law obliges us to report to an authority or a designated body, we do. Our Underage Content Policy sets out the underlying rule, which admits no exception.
What Data May Exist
We can only produce what we hold, and we deliberately hold little. Before drafting a request it is worth knowing what is realistically available.
- Account registration data. An email address, a username, and the account creation date. We do not require a legal name and we do not collect identity documents, so we cannot confirm who a person is.
- Subscription and transaction records. Which plan, and when it was charged. Card details are held by our payment processor and never by us, so a request for payment instrument data has to go to the processor.
- Generated content and conversation history, for as long as the user has kept it. A user can delete this, and once deleted we cannot recover it.
- Moderation records. Flags raised against an account, and the outcome of any review.
- Technical logs. Retained for a short operational period measured in weeks, then discarded. If the conduct you are investigating is older than that, the logs will not exist.
- No performer records. All content is machine generated and involves no real performers, which is why our 18 U.S.C. 2257 Exemption Statement exists. There are no performer identity or age records to produce, because there are no performers.
Preservation Requests
We will preserve records associated with a specified account pending legal process, on a written request that identifies the account and the material. Preservation holds what exists at the moment we receive the request. It does not create data that was never collected, and it does not recover data already deleted.
We preserve for 90 days and will extend once on a written request. If no legal process arrives, the hold lapses and normal retention resumes.
We Tell Users Unless We Cannot
Our default is to notify a user before we produce their data, so that they have the chance to object. This matters more than usual on a platform like this one, where the mere fact of holding an account is sensitive.
We will not notify where a court order or a statute prohibits it, or where we have a good faith belief that notice would create a risk of serious harm to someone or would result in evidence being destroyed. If you need notice withheld, say so in the request and cite the authority for it. A request to delay notice without a legal basis will be declined, and we will tell you that before we respond.
What We Will Not Do
Some things are outside what any request can obtain from us, and saying so here saves everyone the exchange.
- Bulk or speculative access to accounts or content.
- Direct or unsupervised access to our systems, databases or infrastructure.
- Ongoing real-time interception, absent a lawful order specifically authorising it.
- Data we do not hold, including real names, identity documents, and full payment card details.
- Recovery of content the user has deleted, or logs past their retention period.
Timing and Cost
We acknowledge requests within 5 business days and respond as quickly as the request allows. Emergency requests are handled immediately.
We do not normally charge for responding. For an unusually large or complex request we may seek reasonable costs where the law allows. Questions about this page, or about a request in progress, go to legal@lewdly.ai.