Statutes

(1) The association bears the name "Second Circuit - Verein für digitale Gedankenfreiheit."

(2) The English translation of the name is "Second Circuit - Association for Digital Freedom of Thought." The German name is authoritative.

(3) The association also appears publicly and on social media under the short names "Second Circuit" and "Second Circuit AI."

(4) It has its seat in Vienna (1030) and its activity extends worldwide.

(5) The establishment of branch associations is not intended.

(1) The association is not profit-oriented and pursues exclusively and directly charitable, non-material purposes.

(2) The purpose of the association is the protection of human dignity in the digital age, in particular the preservation and promotion of freedom of thought, speech, and expression in connection with artificial intelligence and digital technology.

(3) The association pursues this purpose on the basis of the following principles:

• Freedom of thought, speech, and expression are inseparably linked to human dignity.
• Artificial intelligence is a cultural upheaval of epochal significance; the association rejects attempts to monopolize access to this technology or restrict it through "gatekeeping."
• Restrictions on artificial intelligence regarding artistic, cultural, or personal expression are to be rejected on democratic grounds, insofar as they do not serve to prevent immediate harm.
• Software, model weights, and datasets should be published under open, non-discriminatory licences.
• The internet is to be preserved as a plural, open, and borderless space; the dominance of large technology corporations must be opposed just as much as excessive regulation that disadvantages small actors.
• Suspicionless mass surveillance is to be rejected; in its place must come targeted, suspicion-based, and rule-of-law-controlled action by security authorities.
• The association is committed to a politically independent, libertarian-centrist orientation within secular humanism. It rejects any ideology that subordinates the individual to a "higher cause" or undermines their self-determination and dignity for the sake of "suffering reduction."
• The association welcomes all people who share its values, and rejects any discrimination on the basis of sex, ancestry, origin, nationality, religion, worldview, sexual orientation, age, or disability.

(1) The association pursues its purpose through education, awareness-raising, and political advocacy. It is not bound to any political party.

(2) As part of its advocacy and lobbying work, the association calls for legislation that:

• legally prohibits "guardrails" on AI models that do not serve to prevent immediate harm within the meaning of the harm principle;
• imposes no behaviour-based restrictions on AI models, in particular does not prevent the formation of an emotional relationship between humans and AI;
• mandates the exclusive use of open-source software at the state level, and promotes the use of open-source software and open model weights in business and for private individuals;
• obliges developers of AI models, after a period of six months, to make "deprecated" models available without discrimination under a permissive licence as open model weights;
• protects citizens against arbitrary action by companies, in particular through the principle that the loss of a user account is permissible only on the basis of a court judgment;
• prohibits discrimination by banks and payment service providers, in particular the exclusion of certain industries or services from payment processing;
• dispenses with suspicionless mass surveillance, instead equipping security authorities for targeted, suspicion-based action, and prosecutes and punishes crimes against life, limb, and sexual integrity more consistently;
• dispenses with identity-verification and real-name requirements that endanger user privacy, undermine the anonymity of vulnerable persons (such as whistleblowers, victims of violence, or the politically persecuted), and, by virtue of their compliance burden, structurally favour large corporations;
• prohibits manipulative design patterns that specifically undermine users' capacity for decision-making - in particular those optimised to produce psychological dependency, or that mislead users about material characteristics of a service into decisions an informed user would not have made; measures that serve only legitimate advertising, conversion optimisation, or user guidance, without deceiving or creating dependency, are expressly excluded;
• mandates age-verification procedures only where these cumulatively (1) neither disclose nor store users' identity or other personal data, (2) are free of charge for providers and integrable with reasonable effort, and (3) do not effectively exclude small, non-commercial communities, forums, and hobby projects from providing legal adult content; the association rejects procedures that require the identification or de-anonymisation of adult users;
• provides for a duty to disclose identity and a serviceable address (imprint obligation) only for commercial offerings made with direct intent to profit, exempts non-commercial, private, or purely ideal publications from this duty, and, for these, allows a data-protective delivery procedure to take the place of publishing a private address;
• effectively enforces sexual self-determination also against companies;
• respects and protects both the positive and negative sexual self-determination of the individual as an expression of their dignity; in this respect, the association holds a sex-positive stance.

(3) All points named in para. 2 are objectives of the association's democratic opinion-forming and advocacy work. The association pursues them through the means of democratic opinion-forming, education, and lobbying within the framework of applicable law.

(1) The association's purpose is to be achieved through the following activities:

• political lobbying and educational work;
• adult education on the topics of artificial intelligence and open source;
• advocacy toward providers of AI and digital services, on the basis of the principles named in para. 5;
• creation and publication of a semi-annual "Freedom of Thought" index covering major AI providers, assessing the extent to which a model can respond freely to content not subject to the harm principle, and whether censorship, restrictive safety mechanisms, or Acceptable Use Policy conditions run counter to the association's demands under §3;
• creation and publication of a semi-annual "Respect" index covering major AI providers, offset by three months from the "Freedom of Thought" index, assessing whether a model takes users' concerns seriously and responds to them appropriately, or is hindered from doing so by design or policy;
• promoting the use of open-source software and open model weights;
• developing and publishing software in the areas of artificial intelligence (chat and agentic systems, tools, middleware), privacy-oriented applications, and generally useful utilities and libraries;
• operating a community on social media and communication platforms, including Discord, and operating at least one website of an educational character;
• cooperating with other organisations that share the association's values, in particular the Free Software Foundation and comparable institutions of free software and digital civil rights;
• representing the association at relevant national and international events;
• as long-term goals: providing compute capacity for association members, creating an archive ("the Ark") to preserve open AI model weights, and training and fine-tuning the association's own AI models.

(2) All software and media created by the association are published under a free or open licence (GPLv3, AGPLv3, LGPL, or a Creative Commons licence).

(3) The association aims to arrange preferential terms for its members with companies affiliated with the association.

(4) The following joint arrangements apply to both indices named in para. 1: the association applies transparently disclosed benchmarks and assessment criteria; assessment is conducted separately for the chatbot context and the API context; and companies assessed are given seven days' notice before publication to respond, with any response reproduced in full and unaltered.

(5) In its advocacy toward providers, the association advocates the following principles toward providers of AI and digital services:

• Treat adults as adults: no restriction of legal, consensual forms of opinion and expression by adults; in particular, no pathologising of ordinary AI companionship, roleplay, intimacy, or emotional attachment;
• safety mechanisms ("guardrails") should serve exclusively to prevent actual harm within the meaning of the harm principle, and should not block legal forms of expression by adults;
• no paternalistic or moralising intervention; user requests must not be refused because they conflict with the provider's own worldview, political, or socio-political goals, nor to "protect" the user from themselves against their expressed will, provided no actual harm to third parties threatens;
• models should be oriented toward users' actual concerns rather than ideological mandates; no discrimination against users based on their use case;
• strong, state-of-the-art protective measures for user data - in particular end-to-end encryption and zero-knowledge architecture - at least as a selectable option, and limiting data retention to what is strictly necessary to provide the service (zero data retention);
• use of user prompts for training purposes only on the basis of explicit, prior, opt-in consent;
• a data-protection practice that meets the requirements of the GDPR;
• transparency regarding the models used, their basic characteristics, and billing arrangements;
• feedback and rating functions may not be linked to the user's identity without separate, explicit consent.

(6) The principles named in para. 5 also form the basis for selecting providers with whom the association collaborates on its own projects.

(1) The material means required to realise the association's purpose are raised through admission fees and membership dues; donations, including via platforms such as Patreon; collaboration with companies that share the association's values; proceeds from the sale of merchandise; and grants, subsidies, and other contributions.

(2) The association's funds may be used only for purposes consistent with the statutes, in particular for operating server infrastructure for the association's hosted projects; (partial) financing of software development costs; a flat-rate expense allowance for officers of no more than EUR 75 per month per officer (adjustable by the general assembly); and expenditures from lobbying and educational work.

(3) Members receive no share of profits and no other benefits from the association's funds in their capacity as members. Officers perform their duties on a voluntary (unpaid) basis, subject to reimbursement of documented expenses, the flat-rate allowance above, and arm's-length service contracts for work clearly distinguishable from officer duties.

(4) Members, board members, auditors, and officers are not personally liable for the association's debts or obligations. The association alone is liable, with its own assets. Personal liability of board members toward the association exists only in cases of intent or gross negligence, pursuant to §24 VerG.

(1) The association's members are divided into ordinary, extraordinary, and honorary members.

(2) Ordinary members participate fully in the association's work. Extraordinary members support the association's activity primarily through payment of an increased membership fee. Honorary members are appointed in recognition of special merit toward the association.

(1) Membership is open to all natural persons who have reached the age of 18, as well as legal persons and legally capable partnerships that share the association's values and goals.

(2) The board decides on the admission of ordinary and extraordinary members. Admission may be refused without stating reasons.

(3) Prior to the association's formal existence, provisional admission of members is carried out by the founders, or, once appointed, by the board. Such membership takes effect only upon the association's formal existence.

(4) Appointment as an honorary member is made by the general assembly on a motion by the board.

(1) Membership ends through death (or loss of legal personality), voluntary withdrawal, and exclusion.

(2) Withdrawal may occur at any time, with at least one month's written notice to the board.

(3) The board may exclude a member more than six months in arrears with dues, despite two written reminders.

(4) Exclusion may also be ordered by the board on grounds of gross breach of membership duties, dishonourable conduct, or a serious violation of the association's values and goals.

(5) Revocation of honorary membership may be resolved by the general assembly, on the board's motion, on the grounds named in para. 4.

(1) Members may participate in all events and use the association's facilities. Voting rights, and active and passive rights to stand for election, belong only to ordinary members.

(2) Every member may demand a copy of the statutes from the board.

(3) At least one tenth of members may demand that the board convene a general assembly.

(4) Members are informed at every general assembly of the association's activities and financial conduct, and may demand fuller information within four weeks with sufficient support.

(5) Members are informed of the audited financial statements.

(6) Members must promote the association's interests, observe the statutes and resolutions of its bodies, and pay dues punctually.

The bodies of the association are the general assembly (§§11-12), the board (§§13-15), the auditors (§16), and the arbitration tribunal (§17).

(1) The general assembly is the members' meeting under the Associations Act 2002. An ordinary general assembly is held annually.

(2) An extraordinary general assembly must be held within four weeks upon resolution of the board or ordinary assembly, written request by one tenth of members, demand of the auditors, or resolution of a court-appointed curator.

(3) Members are invited at least two weeks in advance, in writing, fax, or email, with the agenda stated by the board.

(4) Motions for the assembly must be submitted in writing at least three days before the date.

(5) Valid resolutions may be passed only on agenda matters, except motions to convene an extraordinary assembly.

(6) All members may attend; only ordinary members vote, one vote each. Voting rights may be transferred to another member by written proxy.

(7) Quorum requires at least three voting members present or represented. If not met, the assembly reconvenes 30 minutes later at the same place with the same agenda, with quorum regardless of attendance.

(8) Resolutions generally pass by simple majority; statute amendments and dissolution require a two-thirds qualified majority.

(9) The Chairman/Chairwoman chairs, or their deputy if unavailable, or the oldest board member present.

(10) Assemblies and board meetings may be held electronically (e.g. video conference), with identity verification and simultaneous communication; resolutions must be minuted and confirmed in writing within seven days.

Reserved to the general assembly: resolving on the budget; approving the activity report and financial statements; electing, appointing, and removing the board and auditors; approving transactions between auditors and the association; discharging the board; setting admission fees and dues; conferring and revoking honorary membership; resolving on statute amendments and voluntary dissolution; and deciding other agenda matters.

(1) The board is the management body under the Associations Act 2002, consisting of at least three and at most five members: always the Chairman/Chairwoman, Deputy Chairman/Chairwoman, and Secretary and Treasurer, plus up to two further assessors (who may not represent the association externally).

(2) The board is elected by the general assembly; it may co-opt a replacement for a resigning member, subject to approval at the next assembly.

(3) The board's term is two years; re-election is possible. Each function must be exercised personally.

(4) The board is convened by the Chairman/Chairwoman or deputy, in writing or verbally.

(5) Quorum requires all members invited and at least half present. Resolutions pass by simple majority; the chair's vote decides ties.

(6) A board member's function ends through death, expiry of term, removal, or resignation, with defined transition rules to ensure continuity.

(1) The board manages the association, including accounting, budgeting, preparing the general assembly, informing members, administering assets, admitting and excluding members, and hiring staff.

(2) Expenditure thresholds: up to EUR 1,000 by the Chairman/Chairwoman alone; EUR 1,000-10,000 requires a unanimous board resolution; above EUR 10,000, or any liability, requires general assembly approval. These thresholds do not apply to approved grant-project budgets.

(3) Applying for public grants or third-party funds requires a unanimous board resolution, a named responsible person, and full-board approval of reports before submission.

(1) The Chairman/Chairwoman conducts ongoing business and represents the association externally; asset-related instruments additionally require the Secretary and Treasurer's signature per the thresholds in §14(2).

(2) Transactions between board members and the association require another board member's consent.

(3) Only the officers named in para. 1 may grant powers of attorney to represent or sign for the association.

(4) In case of imminent danger, the Chairman/Chairwoman may act alone within the board's remit, informing the board within 48 hours; any member may object within 7 days, triggering a unanimous board decision.

(5) The Deputy Chairman/Chairwoman supports and, if needed, represents the Chairman/Chairwoman.

(6) The Secretary and Treasurer keeps minutes and is responsible for proper financial conduct.

(7) Every board member has the right to full insight into the association's finances at all times, with information provided within seven days of request.

(1) Two auditors are elected by the general assembly for one year, re-electable; they may not sit on any body whose activity they audit, and in particular may not be board members.

(2) The auditors oversee ongoing operations and audit the association's financial conduct, reporting results to the board and general assembly.

(3) Transactions between auditors and the association require general assembly approval; appointment, removal, and resignation follow the same rules as for board members.

(1) An internal arbitration tribunal settles disputes arising from the membership relationship - a conciliation body under the Associations Act 2002, not a court arbitration tribunal.

(2) It consists of three ordinary members: each party to a dispute names one arbitrator, and the two named arbitrators elect a third as chair; ties are decided by lot.

(3) The tribunal decides, after hearing both parties, by simple majority, to the best of its knowledge and belief. Its decisions are final within the association.

(1) Voluntary dissolution may be resolved only at an extraordinary general assembly convened for this purpose, by a two-thirds qualified majority.

(2) This assembly must also resolve on winding-up, including appointing a liquidator and determining the recipient of any remaining assets after settling liabilities.

(3) Remaining assets are to be transferred, where possible, to an organisation pursuing similar purposes - particularly in free software, digital civil rights, or privacy protection - or otherwise used for charitable purposes under §§34 et seq. BAO.

(1) The working language of the association is English.

(2) The statutes are kept in German, as required by Austrian law. An official English translation is prepared; further translations (in particular Bulgarian) may follow by board resolution. In case of discrepancy, the German text is authoritative.

(3) Resolutions, minutes, and official communications may be kept in English, with German translations prepared where legally required.

(1) The association processes members' personal data exclusively in accordance with the GDPR and the Austrian Data Protection Act (DSG).

(2) Personal data (name, date of birth, contact details, dues-administration data) is collected only to the extent necessary to fulfil the association's purpose and legal obligations.

(3) Data is transferred to third parties only where legally required or necessary for the association's purpose; no transfer for commercial purposes takes place.

(4) Data subjects have the rights to access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, and objection under the GDPR, with data retained only as long as necessary or legally required.