acceptable use

In computing, set of rules enforced by a service provider or backbone network restricting the use to which their facilities may be put. Every organization on the Internet has its own acceptable use policy (AUP); schools, for example, may ban the use of their facilities to find or download pornography or other unsuitable materials from the Internet.

Originally, when the Internet was publicly funded, acceptable use banned advertising, and although funding is moving to private enterprise and advertising has now become commonplace, some service providers still do not allow commercial exploitation. The US National Science Foundation's NSFnet, for example, imposes a strict AUP to prohibit commercial organizations from using the network.