MBO’s Code of Conduct 

MBO exists to make it easier for organizations and independent professionals to work together. We are deeply committed to maintaining a safe, secure, and positive experience for everyone.  

We believe that companies and professionals that trust each other thrive. Accordingly, we expect and require all our users to treat one another with mutual respect and consistently conduct themselves in a professional manner.  

We make our Websites and Services available only to users who agree to conduct business fairly, with integrity, and while upholding high ethical standards. MBO has zero tolerance for fraudulent, misleading, or dishonest behavior.  

This Code of Conduct sets the standards for anyone to use our Websites and Services. Users must fully comply to be able to use and continue using our Websites and Services. (And users who do not comply may be subject to disciplinary action which may include restriction or termination of their access, or legal action.) 

Conducting business with integrity 
 
Our users must always: 

• Act in good faith.   
• Be truthful about who they are. Users must always provide true and complete information in connection with registering for any of our Websites or Services or establishing accounts.
• Be truthful about who is doing the work. For example, an independent professional shall not present one individual for an interview when another individual will be doing the work. 
• Be truthful about the work done. Be truthful about the hours worked and work performed.  
• Promptly approve services and deliverables, when appropriate.

Treating others fairly 

Our users shall not:

• Express an unlawful preference in an Opportunity post or proposal.
• Post another individual’s personal identifying information or other sensitive or private data.
• Spam other users with proposals or invites. (This includes posting the same job several times at once and contacting users outside of our platform without their permission.) 
• Ask for or demand free work. (Buyers cannot request that submit work as part of a proposal.) 
• Request a fee to submit a proposal. 
• Request services that primarily concern making purchases on behalf of another.
• Promise to provide services that will be provided by another without notifying the buyer. 
   

Making sure not to mislead or misdirect 

Users must not:  

• Misrepresent their identity or pretend to be someone else.   
• Pretend that one individual will do work that will be done by someone else. 
• Misrepresent their experience. 
• Use a Profile image that depicts a different person. 
• Misrepresent their Profile by using someone else’s profile or identity.  
• Impersonate another individual or entity.
• Upload or share Profiles of an individual or entity without the individual’s or entity’s permission.
• Post fictitious projects.  
• Mislead others in any way. 

Abstaining from unprofessional or malicious activity 

Users must not: 

• Create fake Profiles. 
• Provide false information about their credentials or experience. 
• Override any security feature or bypass or circumvent any access controls. 
• Select or use login credentials that MBO, in our sole discretion, deems offensive in whole or in part. 
• Violate the intellectual property rights of others, including copyrights, patents, trademarks, trade secrets, or other proprietary rights. (For example, users shall not copy or distribute the posts or other content of others without permission.)
• Violate the intellectual property or other rights of MBO — including, without limitation, copying or distributing our materials or copying or distributing our technology, unless it is released under open-source licenses.
• Develop, support, or use software, devices, scripts, robots or any other means or processes (including crawlers, browser plugins and add-ons or any other technology) to scrape our Websites or otherwise copy Profiles and other data from the Websites.
• Copy, use, disclose, or distribute any information obtained from our Websites or Services, whether directly or through third parties (such as search engines), without consent.
• Post anything that contains malicious code, software viruses, worms, or any other harmful code.
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble, decipher, or otherwise attempt to derive the source code for the Websites or Services — or any related technology that is not open source.
• Imply or state that you are affiliated with or endorsed by MBO without our prior, express consent.
• Use bots or other automated methods to access the Websites and Services, add or download contacts, or send or redirect messages.
• Monitor the Websites and Services’ availability, performance, or functionality for any competitive purpose.
• Engage in “framing,” “mirroring,” or otherwise simulating the appearance or function of the Services.
• Overlay or otherwise modify the Websites and Services or their appearance (such as by inserting elements into the Websites and Services or removing, covering, or obscuring an advertisement included on the Websites and Services).
• Use inappropriate language in any context.
• Engage in behavior that a reasonable person would consider unprofessional, harassing, and/or intimidating.
• Behave in a manner that is offensive, degrading, unprofessional, or otherwise deemed unconducive to promoting a collaborative workspace. 

Protecting cybersecurity and privacy 

Users must always:  

• Protect their credentials. 
• Safeguard and keep confidential their username and password. 
• Have their own, unique login. Each login is for a single user only. (Login credentials and each account are unique and may only be used by one user.)
• Refrain from selecting or using another person’s login credentials with the intent to impersonate that person.
• Refrain from ever disclosing or sharing login credentials with any other person. (Users must not provide their username or password to any third party.) 
• Prevent and refuse access to their accounts or login credentials by anyone else.  
• Immediately notify MBO if their login credentials are lost, stolen, or otherwise compromised.
• Immediately change their password if it is lost, stolen, or otherwise compromised.
• Be solely responsible for all use of their login credentials for any actions taken through their login credentials.
• Abide by their obligations relating to protection, collection, and proper handling of confidential and personal information.  
• Comply with all applicable laws governing data privacy. 

MBO may cancel or suspend a user’s access to our Websites and Services if a user transfers or shares their credentials. (And users authorize MBO to access any account, as necessary to administer or configure the site or applicable platform.) 

Avoiding and disclosing any conflicts of interest 

Users must avoid, neutralize, and/or mitigate organizational or personal conflicts of interest. Each individual situation should be examined based on its particular facts and the nature of the proposed contract.  

The exercise of common sense, good judgment, and sound discretion is required in both the decision on whether a significant potential conflict exists and, if it does, the development of an appropriate means for resolving it.  

But the two underlying principles are:  

1. Preventing the existence of conflicting roles that might bias a user’s judgment. 
2. Preventing unfair competitive advantage.  

Users shall promptly disclose any conflict of interest to any party who might be affected.   

Eliminating unlawful discrimination 

MBO strives to treat all individuals and entities with the utmost dignity, respect, and courtesy. In addition, our personnel and users must not discriminate against other users, buyers, service providers, applicants, employees, or other persons based on such factors as: 

• Race 
• Color 
• Religion 
• Age  
• Sex 
• Sexual orientation  
• Marital status 
• Citizenship 
• Ancestry  
• Disability  
• Veteran status  
• or any other class protected under the law 

 Respecting human rights 

Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights. MBO is committed to upholding the human rights of workers, and to treating them with dignity and respect as understood by the international community.  

This applies to all workers — including temporary, migrant, student, contract, direct employees, and any other type of workers.  

Users shall uphold the human rights of all workers and treat them with dignity and respect. Users shall not be complicit in human rights abuses. 

 Respecting labor rights 

Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining. MBO respects the right of all workers to form and join trade unions of their own choosing, the right to bargain collectively and engage in peaceful assembly, and the right of workers to refrain from such activities.  

Workers and/or their representatives shall be able to openly communicate and share ideas and concerns with management regarding working conditions and management practices without fear of discrimination, reprisal, intimidation, or harassment. 

Users shall not interfere with workers’ rights to freely associate, collectively bargain, or peacefully assemble. Users shall not unlawfully interfere with any worker’s rights to openly communicate and share ideas. 

Protecting the environment 

 MBO recognizes that environmental responsibility is integral to providing world class services. We seek to be an environmentally responsible neighbor in the communities where we operate, and act promptly and responsibly to correct incidents or conditions that endanger health, safety, or the environment.   

 We also support the development of environmentally friendly technologies and efforts to minimize adverse effects on the community, our environment, and the world’s natural resources while safeguarding public health and safety. 

Users should strive to: 

• Share our sustainability and environmental priorities.  
• Support efforts to conserve natural resources by reusing and recycling materials, purchasing recycled materials, and using recyclable packaging and other materials.
• Support the responsible use of energy throughout our business community, including conserving energy, improving energy efficiency, and giving preference to renewable over nonrenewable energy sources when feasible.  
• Support and embrace the development of environmentally friendly technologies. 

 Understanding enforcement and consequences 

Compliance with this Code of Conduct is mandatory. MBO’s Website and Services are for use only by authorized parties who comply with this Code of Conduct. MBO monitors activity within its systems to identify improper or unauthorized use. 

Additionally, users must be aware of the following: 

• Consent to monitoring. By using our Website and Services, users consent to their activities being monitored. If criminal activity is detected, evidence from these tools may be provided to law enforcement. MBO will take appropriate action against any user or other person or entity who violates this Code of Conduct. 
• Reporting responsibility. Members must immediately report any violation or suspected violation of this policy. 
• Failure to report is a violation. The failure to report circumstances that may indicate a violation and the unreasonable failure to detect a violation of this policy may constitute cause for appropriate action by MBO. 
• Retaliation is prohibited. MBO prohibits retaliation against anyone who reports a potential violation of this policy in good faith. Retaliation against anyone who reports a suspected violation of this policy will also constitute cause for appropriate action by MBO. 

Moreover, MBO expects its users to adhere in good faith to all the standards of conduct expected and upheld by the enterprises they work with through MBO. 
 

Any questions or concerns? Contact our Support Team.