We are subject to a variety of laws and regulations in the U.S. and other jurisdictions that involve matters that may impact our business, including internet and eCommerce, labor and employment, anti-discrimination, payments, whistleblowing and worker confidentiality obligations, product liability, intellectual property, broadband internet access, online commerce, competition, arbitration agreements and class action waiver provisions, content moderation, intermediary liability, online terms and agreements, protection of minors, consumer protection, user safety, mobile application and website accessibility, sex trafficking, and taxation, among other areas. The introduction of new products and services, expansion of our activities in certain jurisdictions, or other actions that we may take may subject us to additional laws, regulations, or other scrutiny by governmental agencies and other entities. See "Business-Government Regulation." The application, interpretation, and enforcement of these laws and regulations are often uncertain, particularly in the new and rapidly evolving industry in which we operate. In addition, these laws and regulations may be interpreted and applied inconsistently from state-to-state and country-to-country, and they may be inconsistent with one another or with our current policies and practices. These laws and regulations, as well as any associated inquiries, legal action, investigations, or any other government actions, may be costly to comply with and may delay or impede the development of new products and services, result in negative publicity, increase our operating costs, require significant management time and attention, and subject us to liability to remedies that may harm our business, including fines, demands, or orders that we modify or cease existing business practices. We have in the past and may in the future be subject to claims under a variety of U.S. and international laws and regulations that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operation.
In addition, the promulgation of new laws or regulations, or the new interpretation of existing laws and regulations, that restrict or otherwise unfavorably impact our business, or our ability to provide our products and services could require us to change certain aspects of our business and operations to ensure compliance, which could decrease demand for our products and services, reduce revenues, increase costs, and subject us to additional liabilities. In addition, concerns about harms from the use of dating products and services and social networking platforms, and the use of such products, services, and platforms for illegal and harmful conduct have produced and could continue to produce litigation, legislation, or other governmental action. Any proposed or actual litigation, legislation, regulation, or other governmental action on these or other topics could expose us to liability similar to existing legislation in other jurisdictions or, in some cases, more expansive liability.
In addition, we depend on the ability of our users to access the internet. Many users receive internet access from companies that have significant market power in the broadband and internet access marketplace, including incumbent telephone companies, cable companies, mobile communications companies, government-owned service providers, device manufacturers and operating system providers, any of which could take actions that degrade, disrupt, or increase the cost of user access to our products or services, which would, in turn, negatively impact our business. The adoption of any laws or regulations that adversely affect access to, or the growth, popularity, or use of, the internet, including laws restricting net neutrality, could decrease the demand for, or the usage of, our products and services and increase our cost of doing business, which would, in turn, negatively impact our business.
Moreover, the adoption of any laws or regulations that adversely affect the popularity or growth in use of the internet or our products and services, including laws or regulations that undermine open and neutrally administered internet access, could decrease user demand for our service offerings and increase our cost of doing business. For example, on multiple occasions, the FCC has adopted and later repealed net neutrality rules that bar internet providers from blocking or slowing down access to online content, thereby protecting services like ours from such interference. The FCC's actions follow changes in the composition of commissioners at the FCC. Currently, there are no federal net neutrality rules; however, on October 19, 2023, the FCC sought comment on a proposal to readopt net neutrality rules essentially in the form they were adopted in 2018. We cannot predict whether or when the FCC will adopt new rules or the impact of any rules that may be adopted on our operations or business.
Changes to party composition and control in Congress, statehouses, or state legislatures may create at least the possibility that Congress or states may enact laws on net neutrality, though the prospects for such actions are uncertain. Certain states have adopted or are adopting or considering legislation or executive actions that would regulate the conduct of broadband providers. California's net neutrality law took effect in 2021, and a similar law in Vermont is subject to a pending challenge but went into effect on April 20, 2022. We cannot predict whether future FCC net neutrality rules or other state initiatives will be enforced, modified, overturned, or vacated by legal action of a court, federal legislation, or the
FCC. In addition, the status of state regimes may be affected by the FCC's action in its new network neutrality proceeding. To the extent internet service providers engage in such blocking, throttling or "paid prioritization" of content, or engaged in similar actions because of the reversal of net neutrality protections, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
In addition, concerns about various sorts of harms and the use of similar products and services and social networking platforms for illicit or otherwise inappropriate conduct, such as romance scams and financial fraud, could result in future legislation or other governmental action that affects the overall social networking industry. See "Business-Government Regulation."
In addition, the international nature of our business exposes us to compliance obligations and related risks under economic sanctions, export controls and anti-corruption laws administered and enforced by the U.S. and various other governments. Economic sanctions and export controls laws and regulations restrict investment in, or otherwise engaging in dealings with or involving, certain individuals, entities, governments or countries, unless such activities are authorized pursuant to regulatory authorizations or general or specific licenses. These regulations may limit our ability to market, sell, distribute, or otherwise transfer our products and services or technology to certain countries or persons. Changes in our products and services and technology or changes in export controls or economic sanctions laws and regulations may create delays in the introduction of our products and services into international markets or, in some cases, prevent the provision or expansion of our business and our products and services to or for certain countries, governments or persons altogether. We maintain policies and procedures which we believe to be adequate and customary to support our compliance with applicable economic sanctions and export controls. We can provide no assurances, however, that our products and services are not provided inadvertently in violation of such laws, despite the precautions we take.
We are also subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, (commonly known as the "FCPA"), the U.S. Travel Act, the United Kingdom Bribery Act 2010, and other anti-corruption, anti-bribery, and similar laws in the United States and other countries in which we conduct activities. Anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws generally prohibit companies and their employees, agents, intermediaries and other third parties from directly or indirectly promising, authorizing, making or offering improper payments or other benefits to government officials and others in the private sector. We may be held liable for the corrupt or other illegal activities of third-party business partners and intermediaries, or our employees, representatives, contractors, and other third parties, even if we do not explicitly authorize such activities. We maintain policies and procedures which we believe to be adequate and customary to support our compliance with applicable anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws. However, there can be no assurance that such policies and procedures will prevent violations of applicable anti-corruption or anti-bribery laws and regulations.