Terms of Use

01General provisions

NewsBar® is a satirical portal. All content published on the portal is fictional. Articles/dispatches, headlines, statements, quotations, figures, photographs, videos and audio recordings are satirical and humorous works; they do not make factual claims and must not be interpreted as news or as actual statements by the persons to whom they are attributed.

(1) These Terms of Use (hereinafter: the Terms) govern the rights and obligations relating to access to and use of the NewsBar® online portal at newsbar.hr, including its English version at newsbar.hr/en/, the application installed on a device from the portal, and all services provided through them (hereinafter together: the portal).

(2) The portal is published and operated by the company News Bar Empire d.o.o., OIB 72949071646 (hereinafter: the publisher). Information on the publisher, the editorial board and the ownership structure is published in the Impressum.

(3) The portal is an information society service within the meaning of the Electronic Commerce Act (Zakon o elektroničkoj trgovini). To the extent that it stores and publicly displays users' content at their request, the publisher is a hosting service provider and an online platform within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 on a Single Market for Digital Services (hereinafter: the Digital Services Act).

(4) By accessing the portal or using any of its services, you accept these Terms. A registered user expressly accepts them upon registration. If you do not agree with the Terms, you must not use the portal; reading this document to the end is not regarded as use but as courage.

(5) The Commenting Rules, the Privacy Policy and the statement on the nature of the content in the Impressum form an integral part of these Terms. In the event of any conflict, these Terms shall prevail, except in matters concerning the processing of personal data, in which the Privacy Policy shall prevail.

02Definitions

In these Terms, the following terms have the following meanings:

• user — any natural or legal person accessing the portal, whether or not registered;
• registered user — a user who has opened a user account;
• consumer — a natural person using the portal for purposes outside their trade, business, craft or profession;
• portal content — all texts, articles/dispatches, headlines, photographs, illustrations, videos, audio recordings, graphic designs, polls, data and other materials published by the publisher, as well as their selection and arrangement;
• user content — comments, replies, display names, votes and any other content that a user publishes or submits through the portal;
• synthetic content — content wholly or partly generated or modified by an artificial intelligence system;
• services — reading content, commenting, voting, polls, the newsletter, push notifications, downloading social media cards and other portal functions.

Terms in the singular include the plural and vice versa. Section headings are for ease of reference only and do not affect interpretation.

03Nature of the content

NewsBar® is a satirical portal. All content published on the portal is fictional.

(1) Articles/dispatches, headlines, statements, quotations, interviews, figures, statistics, polls, documents, agency sources, photographs, videos and audio recordings published on the portal are satirical and humorous works. They do not make factual claims and must not be interpreted as news, reports of actual events or actual statements by the persons to whom they are attributed — however convincing they may appear, whatever format they are published in, and whether or not they cite real names, positions, institutions, places, dates or numbers of regulations.

(2) The names, likenesses and positions of real persons, institutions and organisations are used solely as the subject of satire, parody and commentary on matters of public interest, within the freedom of expression guaranteed by Article 38 of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, Article 10 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. In the publisher's case, by decision no. U-III-334/2023 of 5 March 2024, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia held that satire is a specific form of artistic expression and social commentary which, by its inherent features of exaggeration and distortion of reality, naturally aims to provoke and agitate, and that any interference with that freedom must be examined with particular care (see the section Satire before the courts). Such use does not mean that those persons have approved the content, that they took part in its creation, or that they actually made the statements attributed to them, although some of them, in the editorial board's assessment, might.

(3) News agencies, institutes, photo agencies, experts, spokespersons and other sources cited in the portal content, including the partners listed in the Impressum, are part of the satirical content. Any similarity to the names of existing entities serves the purpose of parody and does not indicate any connection between them and the portal.

(4) The results of polls and votes on the portal are not scientifically, statistically or in any other way representative and must not be presented as opinion research. The margin of error has not been calculated, as there was no need.

(5) A user who shares, reproduces or quotes portal content must do so in a manner that does not mislead third parties as to its nature. It is prohibited to present portal content as genuine news, to remove or conceal its origin, or to take it out of context with intent to deceive. The person who engaged in such conduct shall be solely liable for its consequences.

(6) The statement on the nature of the content applies to all portal content, whether or not individually labelled, as well as to content that the publisher publishes or sends outside the portal: the newsletter, push notifications, social media cards and posts, and videos on other platforms. Before sharing an article/dispatch as genuine news, checking is recommended; after sharing, checking is no longer necessary.

04Satire before the courts

(1) Freedom of satire is not a matter of taste but a constitutional and Convention right. NewsBar® won it before the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia.

(2) In 2015 NewsBar® published a satirical article about a well-known television presenter , who brought an action for damages over it. The Zagreb Municipal Civil Court upheld the claim in 2018, and the Zagreb County Court confirmed that judgment in 2020. The courts took the view that satire may ridicule only real events, not fictional ones, and that a note in the terms of use stating that the content is fictional is not sufficient. The publisher considered that view untenable, primarily for professional reasons.

(3) The publisher lodged a constitutional complaint. By decision no. U-III-334/2023 of 5 March 2024, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia upheld the constitutional complaint, quashed both judgments and found that the publisher's freedom of thought and expression guaranteed by Article 38 of the Constitution had been violated. This is the Constitutional Court's first decision on injury to honour and reputation through a satirical form of expression: it expressly recognised satire as a specific form of artistic expression and social commentary, relying on the settled case-law of the European Court of Human Rights. The Constitutional Court guarantees respect for and application of the Constitution, which ranks above statute, and is empowered to repeal any statute that contravenes it. Its decisions are final and binding, every natural and legal person must respect them, and all state authorities are obliged to implement them (Article 31, paragraphs 1 and 2, of the Constitutional Act on the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia (Ustavni zakon o Ustavnom sudu Republike Hrvatske)). The dispute ended in the publisher's favour.

The extract from the decision was prepared by the publisher; personal data have been redacted.

(4) In its settled case-law, the European Court of Human Rights protects satire under Article 10 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The Constitutional Court also relied on those principles:

• Vereinigung Bildender Künstler v. Austria (no. 68354/01, 25 January 2007, § 33) — satire is a form of artistic expression and social commentary which, by its inherent features of exaggeration and distortion of reality, naturally aims to provoke and agitate; any interference with that freedom must be examined with particular care. The Court found that a ban on exhibiting the painting “Apocalypse”, which depicted public figures in indecent scenes, violated freedom of expression.
• Nikowitz and Verlagsgruppe News GmbH v. Austria (no. 5266/03, 22 February 2007) — a fictitious statement attributed to a real, publicly known person in a satirical article is a value judgment expressed in the form of a joke and is protected. A satirical article about an Austrian skier's injury attributed to his rival a fictitious statement that he was pleased about the injury; the Court found that the author's conviction for defamation violated freedom of expression.
• Alves da Silva v. Portugal (no. 41665/07, 20 October 2009) — obviously satirical messages cannot be taken literally, and a penalty for them is disproportionate. During the carnival, the applicant drove through the town in a van carrying a puppet of the mayor, a sign with an anagram of his name, a blue bag as a symbol of corruption, and a recording promising jobs to those who voted for the mayor; the Court found that his criminal conviction violated freedom of expression.
• Tuşalp v. Turkey (nos. 32131/08 and 41617/08, 21 February 2012) — a politician, including a prime minister, must tolerate harsh and provocative criticism, including exaggeration. The Court found that the damages a journalist had to pay over two articles about the prime minister violated freedom of expression.
• Eon v. France (no. 26118/10, 14 March 2013) — punishing satire directed at a head of state has a deterrent effect on satirical expression on matters of general interest. On the arrival of the President of the Republic, a protester displayed a placard bearing an insult which the President himself had previously uttered in public; the Court found that the penalty violated freedom of expression.
• Welsh and Silva Canha v. Portugal (no. 16812/11, 17 September 2013) — a satirical newspaper may write harshly about the management of public money. The Court found that the conviction of the editors of the Madeiran satirical newspaper “O Garajau” over articles about port management violated freedom of expression.
• Bohlen v. Germany (no. 53495/09, 19 February 2015) — humour linked to a public debate takes precedence over a claim by a well-known person. An advertisement used the name of a well-known musician and blacked-out words, alluding to passages of his book that had been blacked out by court order; the Court rejected his claim.
• Sousa Goucha v. Portugal (no. 70434/12, 22 March 2016) — a joke is assessed in the context and style of the comedy programme in which it was made. A comedy television programme included a well-known male presenter in a list of the best female presenters; the Court rejected his claim that the authors of the joke should be criminally prosecuted.
• Dickinson v. Turkey (no. 25200/11, 2 February 2021) — a politician must display greater tolerance of criticism, particularly when it takes the form of satire; the criminal prosecution of the author is in itself a violation. An artist was convicted over a collage placing the prime minister's head on a dog's body; the Court found that the conviction violated freedom of expression.
• Handzhiyski v. Bulgaria (no. 10783/14, 6 April 2021) — satirically dressing up a monument is a protected form of political protest. A protester placed a Father Christmas hat and sack on a monument to a communist leader, calling for the government's resignation; the Court found that the penalty violated freedom of expression.
• Patrício Monteiro Telo de Abreu v. Portugal (no. 42713/15, 7 June 2022) — caricatures of politicians fall within the limits of exaggeration and provocation inherent in satire. The Court found that a blogger's conviction over caricatures depicting municipal politicians as animals violated freedom of expression.

(5) In Deckmyn and Vrijheidsfonds (C-201/13, Grand Chamber judgment of 3 September 2014), the Court of Justice of the European Union held that the concept of ‘parody’ is an autonomous concept of EU law, to be interpreted uniformly in all Member States. In the operative part of the judgment, it ruled that the essential characteristics of parody are, first, to evoke an existing work while being noticeably different from it, and, secondly, to constitute an expression of humour or mockery.

(6) This list is not exhaustive. The editorial board adds to it as the need arises, and the need as a rule arrives by registered post.

05Synthetic content and artificial intelligence

(1) The publisher uses artificial intelligence systems to create content for the portal. In accordance with Article 50 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 on artificial intelligence (hereinafter: the AI Act), we inform you that the following is synthetic content:

• every photograph and illustration, except those for which a real author or source is expressly stated; synthetic photographs carry the publisher's credits (e.g. GPTty IMAGES, ARHIVSKI FOTOGRAM), which are designations of the publisher and not of real photo agencies;
• videos and animations created or altered by artificial intelligence, including the presenter’s character, appearance, facial expressions and speech;
• voices and audio recordings created by speech synthesis;
• parts of texts, headlines, polls and translations into English, which are produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence under the editorial supervision and responsibility of the publisher;
• comments, replies and reactions by computer-generated participants in discussions in the Discussions section.

(2) Synthetic depictions of real persons, places, objects and events are created for satirical purposes; they do not document real events and do not depict anything that actually happened.

(3) Politicians and other public figures are deliberately depicted in a recognisable manner; the scene, context, action and statements in which they appear are fictitious. Satire directed at a public figure cannot achieve its purpose if it is not known to whom it refers. Such a depiction does not claim that what is depicted actually happened; rather, it is a value judgement on that person’s public conduct, expressed by satirical means.

(4) Such depictions are permitted because they concern persons who have themselves entered the public sphere and their public conduct, in which there is a legitimate public interest; the limits of acceptable criticism are wider for public figures than for private individuals, particularly where the criticism takes the form of satire. This position is reflected in the settled case law of the European Court of Human Rights, which has protected as freedom of expression a collage showing the head of a prime minister on the body of a dog (Dickinson v. Turkey), caricatures of politicians depicted as animals (Patrício Monteiro Telo de Abreu v. Portugal) and a carnival puppet of a mayor (Alves da Silva v. Portugal), and of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia in the publisher’s case (see the section Satire in the Courts). The processing of personal data for this purpose is carried out within the exemptions for journalistic, artistic and literary expression under Article 85 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

(5) The publisher does not publish recognisable synthetic depictions of private individuals, sexually explicit depictions of real persons, depictions that incite hatred or violence, or depictions of real persons designed so that, outside the satirical context of the portal, they could be presented as authentic documentation of a real event.

(6) Any resemblance to private individuals is coincidental and statistically unavoidable.

(7) Videos from the archive of NewsBar® television and online productions were filmed with the actors and contributors listed in the Impressum. They, too, do not depict real events within the meaning of the section Nature of Content.

(8) Since this is an evidently satirical work, the existence of synthetic content is disclosed in these Terms and in the Impressum, in a manner that does not hamper the display or enjoyment of the work, as permitted by Article 50(4) of the AI Act. The publisher does not guarantee that artificial intelligence systems understand satire; this was not a requirement when the systems were selected.

06Use of the portal

(1) The portal may be used solely for lawful purposes, in accordance with these Terms and for personal, non-commercial purposes.

(2) In particular, the following is prohibited:

• automated access to the portal and the downloading, indexing or collection of content by means of scraping programs, robots, spiders and similar tools, except by search engines within the limits permitted by the robots.txt file;
• text and data mining of the portal’s content, including collection for the purpose of developing, training, fine-tuning or evaluating artificial intelligence systems (see the section Intellectual Property);
• circumventing, disabling or interfering with technical protection measures, access restrictions, anti-abuse checks and rate limits;
• vulnerability testing, scanning or attempting unauthorised access to systems, accounts or data, except with the prior written permission of the publisher;
• actions that place a disproportionate load on the portal’s infrastructure or interfere with its operation;
• framing the portal or parts of it within another website, and mirroring the portal;
• impersonating the publisher, the editorial board, NewsBar® or another person, and creating websites, profiles, applications or materials that give the impression of an official connection with the portal;
• artificially inflating the number of views, votes, poll results, ad clicks or other metrics;
• any other conduct contrary to the regulations of the Republic of Croatia, European Union law or these Terms.

(3) In order to protect the portal and its users, the publisher may temporarily or permanently restrict access to the portal from certain addresses, devices, networks or countries.

07Intellectual property

(1) The content of the portal, its selection and arrangement, graphic design, program code and databases are protected under the Copyright and Related Rights Act (Zakon o autorskom pravu i srodnim pravima, ZASP), including the database maker’s right, and other intellectual property regulations. The rights holder is the publisher or the persons who have assigned rights to it. The fact that content is fictitious does not mean that it is free.

(2) NEWSBAR® is a registered trade mark. The name, logo, the NB® mark and other distinctive signs of the portal may not be used without the prior written approval of the publisher, except for truthful reference to the portal as a source.

(3) The user is granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable and revocable right to view the portal’s content for personal and non-commercial purposes. The following is permitted:

• sharing links to the portal’s articles;
• quotation to the extent justified by the purpose, with clear attribution of the source (NewsBar®) and a link to the original article;
• sharing social media cards that the portal offers for download, in their original and unaltered form, with the portal’s markings visible.

(4) Without the prior written approval of the publisher, any other reproduction, distribution, communication to the public, making available to the public, adaptation, translation and commercial exploitation of the portal’s content, in whole or in part, in any form and medium, is prohibited.

(5) The publisher expressly reserves the right to text and data mining of the portal’s content within the meaning of Article 4(3) of Directive (EU) 2019/790 and of the provisions of the Copyright and Related Rights Act by which that Directive was transposed into Croatian law. The reservation is also expressed in machine-readable form, by means of the robots.txt file. Collection of the portal’s content for the purpose of developing, training, fine-tuning or evaluating artificial intelligence systems is permitted only on the basis of a written agreement with the publisher.

(6) This section does not restrict the rights and exceptions granted to users by mandatory regulations.

08User accounts

(1) Commenting and certain other services require registration. Reading the portal does not require registration.

(2) Only persons who have reached the age of 16 may register, which the user expressly confirms upon registration. An account that the publisher learns was opened by a person under the age of 16 will be closed.

(3) Registration and login are possible via a Google or Facebook account or by means of a one-time code sent to an email address. The portal does not use passwords, so it cannot lose them either. Login via Google or Facebook is also subject to the terms of those providers.

(4) When registering, the user must provide truthful information, use an email address that they control and open only one account. Opening an account to circumvent a measure imposed, opening an account in another person’s name, and transferring, selling or sharing an account are prohibited.

(5) The display name is chosen by the user. It must not be offensive or misleading and must not give the impression that the user is another person, a public figure, the publisher or a member of the editorial board. The publisher may change a display name that breaches these rules or request that it be changed.

(6) The user is responsible for safeguarding access to their email address and to the accounts they use to log in, and for all actions taken from their account. The user must notify the publisher without delay of any unauthorised use of the account.

(7) The publisher may refuse registration from email addresses of certain domains or providers, in particular temporary address services, as well as registration where there is a reasonable suspicion of abuse.

(8) The user may delete their account at any time in the account settings. Deletion anonymises the account: published comments remain public under the label “Deleted user”, without a name, while identity data are stored separately for the period stated in the Privacy Policy in order to evidence moderation measures, after which they are deleted.

09User content

(1) User content is the sole responsibility of the user who published it. User content expresses the opinion of its author, not of the publisher or the editorial board. In accordance with Article 8 of the Digital Services Act (DSA), the publisher is under no general obligation to monitor user content or actively to seek facts or circumstances indicating illegal activity.

(2) The user retains copyright in their content. By publishing user content, the user grants the publisher a non-exclusive, royalty-free, territorially unlimited right, for the duration of protection, to store, reproduce, display and make available to the public the user content on the portal and on the portal’s social media profiles, to adapt it to the technical requirements of display, and to refer to and quote it in the portal’s content, together with the right to transfer these powers to technical service providers to the extent necessary for the operation of the portal. The right continues after deletion of the account for content that remains published in accordance with these Terms.

(3) The user warrants that they are the author of the user content or hold all rights necessary for its publication and for granting the right under paragraph 2, and that the user content does not infringe the rights of third parties or any regulations.

(4) A user who causes damage to the publisher by publishing user content or by otherwise breaching these Terms shall compensate it in accordance with the general rules of the law of obligations, including reasonable costs of defence against third-party claims.

(5) The publisher may remove user content, disable access to it or restrict its visibility in accordance with the section Content Moderation.

10Unsolicited materials

(1) NewsBar® does not accept external contributions. Texts, photographs, videos, ideas for articles/dispatches and other materials sent without the publisher’s invitation do not oblige the publisher to publish, reply, pay a fee or return them.

(2) By sending such material, the sender warrants that they hold the necessary rights to it and grants the publisher a non-exclusive, royalty-free, territorially and temporally unlimited right to publish it, adapt it and use it as a template.

(3) Ideas as such are not subject to copyright protection. The publisher may independently develop and publish content similar to the material sent, without any obligation towards the sender. As a rule, the editorial board had the same idea three weeks earlier.

11Discussions

(1) Discussions below articles in the Croatian and English versions of the portal are kept separate from each other.

(2) In addition to registered users and the editorial board, computer-generated participants operated by the publisher and powered by artificial intelligence systems also take part in discussions. Their comments, replies to users' comments, mentions and “like” marks form part of the satirical content of the portal within the meaning of the Nature of Content section; they do not express the opinions of real persons or of the publisher and do not represent genuine support or public opinion. This notice is given in accordance with Article 50(1) of the Artificial Intelligence Act.

(3) Voting (“like”) is also possible without registration. Votes of unregistered users and of users who have chosen anonymous voting are displayed without names.

(4) The publisher may close, restrict or remove the discussion on any individual article. Disagreeing with the editorial board is permitted, does not affect the status of a comment and is duly recorded.

12Content moderation

(1) In accordance with Article 14 of the Digital Services Act, the publisher provides information, by means of this section and the Commenting Rules, on the policies, procedures, measures and tools it uses for content moderation.

(2) User content is assessed against these Terms, the Commenting Rules and applicable legislation. The assessment is carried out:

• by automated tools, including artificial intelligence systems, which assess whether content breaches the rules and may withhold it from publication, temporarily hold it or remove it;
• by human review by the editorial board, which supervises the automated tools, decides on disputed cases, notices and complaints, and may amend any automated decision.

(3) Depending on the seriousness, circumstances and recurrence of the breach, the publisher may: not publish or remove content, restrict its visibility, warn the user, temporarily disable commenting, and temporarily suspend or permanently terminate an account.

(4) A user who frequently posts manifestly illegal content shall, after a prior warning, be suspended from using the services for a reasonable period. The same applies, as appropriate, to persons who frequently submit manifestly unfounded notices or complaints, pursuant to Article 23 of the Digital Services Act.

(5) A user shall be informed of a decision to remove or restrict user content, or to restrict an account, at the latest at the time it takes effect, together with a clear and specific statement of reasons containing the information set out in Article 17 of the Digital Services Act, including an indication of whether the decision was taken by automated means, and information on available redress.

(6) Removed content and data relating to the decision are retained for the period specified in the Privacy Policy, for evidentiary purposes and for deciding on complaints.

13Reporting illegal content

(1) Anyone may report content which they consider to be illegal or contrary to these Terms:

• using the REPORT button next to each comment, selecting a reason, or
• by message to desk@newsbar.hr.

(2) A notice submitted by message should contain: an explanation of the reasons why the submitter considers the content to be illegal; the exact electronic location of the content (link); the name and email address of the submitter, except in the case of notices concerning content relating to offences referred to in Articles 3 to 7 of Directive 2011/93/EU; and a statement confirming the submitter's good-faith belief that the information and allegations contained in the notice are accurate and complete (Article 16(2) of the Digital Services Act).

(3) Where contact details have been provided, the publisher shall confirm receipt of the notice without undue delay, decide on it in a timely, diligent, non-arbitrary and objective manner, and inform the submitter of its decision and of the available redress. Where automated means are used in decision-making, this shall be stated.

(4) A notice does not in itself hide the reported content; it remains available until a decision is taken, unless it is manifestly illegal, in which case it is removed immediately upon becoming aware of it. Notices from competent authorities are processed as a priority. Where the publisher becomes aware of information giving rise to a suspicion of a criminal offence involving a threat to the life or safety of persons, it shall promptly inform the competent authorities (Article 18 of the Digital Services Act).

14Complaints and legal remedies

(1) A user whose content or account is affected by a decision referred to in the Content Moderation section, as well as the submitter of a notice, may lodge a complaint at desk@newsbar.hr within six months of being informed of the decision. Complaints are free of charge. Complaints are read.

(2) Complaints are decided by the editorial board through human review, and not solely by automated means, in a timely, non-discriminatory and non-arbitrary manner. Where the decision is found to have been unjustified, it shall be reversed without undue delay.

(3) A user may refer a dispute concerning a decision to a certified out-of-court dispute settlement body referred to in Article 21 of the Digital Services Act, to the extent provided for by law, and may at any time initiate proceedings before the competent court.

(4) A user has the right to lodge a complaint with the Digital Services Coordinator; in the Republic of Croatia, this is the Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (HAKOM).

15Correction and reply

(1) A person whose right or interest has been infringed by the publication of information may request the publication of a correction or reply. The request shall be addressed to the editor-in-chief in writing, at ispravak@mail.newsbar.hr.

(2) The publisher shall decide on the request without delay, applying the Media Act (Zakon o medijima) mutatis mutandis: it shall either publish the correction or notify the person submitting the request in writing of the reasons for refusal.

16Points of contact

(1) The single point of contact for Member States' authorities, the European Commission and the European Board for Digital Services (Article 11 of the Digital Services Act) and for recipients of the service (Article 12 of the Digital Services Act) is desk@newsbar.hr.

(2) Communication is possible in Croatian and English. Replies do not rely solely on automated tools.

17Newsletter and notifications

(1) The newsletter is sent only on the basis of consent, which may be withdrawn at any time via the unsubscribe link in each message or in the account settings.

(2) Device notifications are sent only after the user has enabled them and their browser or device has permitted them, and may be disabled in the settings of the portal, browser or device. The type and frequency of notifications are determined by the publisher.

(3) Messages necessary for the use of the services — login codes, notices concerning the account, moderation measures and amendments to the Terms — are sent irrespective of consent to the newsletter.

18Advertising and sponsored content

(1) The portal is funded by advertising. Advertisements are displayed in accordance with the consent given in the cookie settings.

(2) Sponsored content and content produced to order for advertisers is marked with the label EPP (ekonomsko-propagandni program, i.e. advertising) or another clear label, so that it can be distinguished from editorial content.

(3) Political advertising is published only with the labels and information required by Regulation (EU) 2024/900 on the transparency and targeting of political advertising.

(4) Advertisers are responsible for the content of advertisements and for their products and services. The display of an advertisement does not mean that the publisher recommends it, unless this is expressly stated in the advertisement, which does not happen.

19Third-party services and links

(1) The portal uses third-party services, in particular for login (Google, Facebook), video display (YouTube), abuse protection, sending email and displaying advertisements. Their use is also subject to the terms and privacy policies of those providers, as listed in the Privacy Policy.

(2) The portal may contain links to third-party websites. The publisher has no control over them and is not responsible for their content, availability or data processing.

20Personal data

The processing of personal data is governed by the Privacy Policy, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR) and the Act on the Implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (Zakon o provedbi Opće uredbe o zaštiti podataka). The use of cookies and similar technologies is governed by the Privacy Policy and the cookie settings, available in the footer of every page.

21Availability and changes to services

(1) The portal is provided as is and as available. The publisher does not guarantee uninterrupted, timely, secure or error-free availability of the portal or of individual services.

(2) The publisher may at any time modify, temporarily suspend or permanently discontinue the portal, individual services or functions, in particular for maintenance, security or the rectification of technical faults, without prior notice. Registered users shall be notified in advance of the permanent discontinuation of services linked to the user account where reasonably possible.

22Liability

(1) The portal is used at the user's own risk. Within the limits set out in paragraph 2, the publisher shall not be liable for damage arising from:

• the interpretation of satirical content as factual, and decisions taken on the basis of the portal's content, including but not limited to investment, health, marital and geopolitical decisions;
• user content and the conduct of other users, except to the extent that the liability of hosting service providers is provided for in Article 6 of the Digital Services Act;
• unavailability of the portal, interruptions, disruptions and loss of data;
• the content of advertisements and of third-party websites and services;
• sharing of the portal's content outside its context.

(2) The limitations of liability set out in these Terms apply to the fullest extent permitted by mandatory law. Liability for damage caused intentionally or through gross negligence, for injury to life, body or health, and any liability which may not be excluded or limited under the Civil Obligations Act (Zakon o obveznim odnosima) and consumer protection legislation, is neither excluded nor limited.

23Duration and termination

(1) The relationship between the publisher and a registered user is entered into for an indefinite period.

(2) The user may terminate it at any time by deleting their account.

(3) The publisher may suspend or terminate an account in accordance with the Content Moderation section. In the absence of a breach of these Terms, the publisher may terminate an account by giving the user at least 30 days' notice, unless legislation, the security of the portal or the protection of other users requires more prompt action.

(4) Provisions which by their nature are intended to remain in force after termination of the relationship, in particular those concerning rights in user content, intellectual property, liability and governing law, shall remain in force.

24Amendments to the Terms

(1) The publisher may amend these Terms in order to comply with regulations, decisions of the competent authorities, or changes in services or business circumstances. The amended Terms shall be published on this page, stating the date of the last amendment.

(2) Registered users shall be notified of material amendments by email or by a notice on the portal at least 15 days before they take effect. A user who does not agree with the amendments may delete their account by that date; continued use after the amendments have taken effect shall be deemed acceptance of them.

(3) Amendments required by a regulation or a decision of a competent authority, amendments relating solely to new services, and amendments that do not affect users' rights may take effect on the date of publication.

25Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

(1) These Terms and the relationships arising from them shall be governed by the law of the Republic of Croatia, excluding its conflict-of-law rules. A consumer habitually resident in another country retains the protection afforded to them by the mandatory provisions of the law of that country (Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008).

(2) Disputes shall fall within the jurisdiction of the court in Zagreb having subject-matter jurisdiction. This is without prejudice to the rules on jurisdiction in consumer disputes, including Articles 17 to 19 of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012, under which a consumer may also bring proceedings before the court of the place where they are domiciled, and proceedings against a consumer may be brought only before the courts of the country in which the consumer is domiciled.

(3) Before legal proceedings are initiated, efforts shall be made to resolve the dispute amicably by writing to desk@newsbar.hr. The publisher has not undertaken to participate in alternative consumer dispute resolution procedures, unless it is required to do so by law.

26Final Provisions

(1) If any provision of these Terms is found to be null and void, invalid or unenforceable, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. It shall be replaced by the valid provision closest to it in purpose or by the corresponding statutory provision.

(2) Failure by the publisher to exercise any right under these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of that right.

(3) The publisher may transfer its rights and obligations under these Terms to a legal successor or to another publisher of the portal, with notice to registered users. The user may not transfer their rights and obligations without the publisher's consent.

(4) These Terms have been drawn up in Croatian. The English version is provided for information purposes; in the event of any discrepancy, the Croatian version shall prevail.

(5) These Terms take effect on the date of publication and supersede all previous versions. Previous versions are kept in the publisher's archive, where nobody reads them.