Legal & Editorial Information
Last updated: 22-09-2026
This page explains the editorial status of HowSketchy, the rules applying to its interactive features, and how personal data is handled.
1. About HowSketchy
HowSketchy is an independent, volunteer-run and non-commercial editorial archive and public-interest research project operated from the Netherlands.
The project documents publicly reported information concerning artists and musicians using publicly available sources such as established news reporting, court records, official statements and other identifiable publications.
HowSketchy does not investigate private individuals and does not publish private information that has not already been made publicly available in a relevant context.
Our editorial methodology, including how findings and ratings are assessed, is explained in the FAQ.
2. Sources and Editorial Responsibility
HowSketchy aims to accurately represent the sources on which its entries are based.
Where reasonably possible, findings are linked directly to the underlying publication or documentation so that readers can review the original source themselves.
The inclusion of a source does not mean that HowSketchy endorses every statement, interpretation or conclusion made by that source.
Allegations, investigations, charges, lawsuits and other unresolved matters are intended to be presented according to their documented status. An allegation is not a conviction, and the existence of an accusation or legal proceeding does not itself establish guilt or liability.
HowSketchy does not make judicial determinations of criminal guilt, civil liability or legal wrongdoing.
3. Editorial Ratings
Editorial Ratings are subjective editorial assessments based on the documented information and criteria described in the HowSketchy FAQ.
They represent editorial commentary and should not be interpreted as judicial findings, declarations of criminal guilt, determinations of civil liability or professional legal assessments.
Ratings may change when credible new information becomes available, including subsequent reporting, corrections, retractions, acquittals, dismissals, judgments or other relevant developments.
4. User Ratings
User Ratings are separate from HowSketchy’s Editorial Ratings.
They represent aggregated expressions of opinion submitted by visitors and do not necessarily reflect the views of HowSketchy or its editors.
Visitors may rate an artist once. To protect the integrity of the rating system, HowSketchy creates a pseudonymous technical identifier derived from the visitor’s IP address and browser user-agent information. The original values are not stored as part of the voting record.
This identifier is used to help prevent duplicate voting and detect manipulation of the rating system.
Users may not attempt to manipulate User Ratings through automated voting, coordinated artificial voting, technical circumvention, bots or similar methods.
Where HowSketchy reasonably suspects brigading, automated activity, manipulation, technical errors or other abuse, votes may be disregarded, removed or recalculated as necessary to preserve the integrity of the rating system.
HowSketchy does not guarantee that an individual vote will remain permanently included in an aggregate rating.
5. Submissions and Corrections
Visitors may submit artists, sources, suggested findings, corrections and other relevant information for consideration.
User submissions are not published automatically.
All submissions are manually reviewed by HowSketchy’s editors. Editors may verify sources, edit or reframe the submitted information, add context, reject a submission or take no action.
Submitting information does not guarantee that it will be published or otherwise incorporated into the archive.
By submitting information, you confirm that you are not knowingly providing false, misleading, fabricated or unlawfully obtained material.
If an entry contains an objective error, materially outdated information, an incorrect legal status, a retracted source or an important subsequent development, a correction may be submitted through the relevant form.
Artists and their representatives may use the same process to provide corrections, responses or relevant subsequent developments.
Depending on the circumstances, HowSketchy may correct, update, contextualise, annotate, re-rate or remove material.
A request for removal does not automatically require removal of material that may legitimately remain part of the editorial or historical record.
6. External Websites
HowSketchy links to third-party publications rather than reproducing their articles.
External websites are operated independently of HowSketchy. Their content may subsequently be changed, moved, placed behind a paywall or removed.
HowSketchy is not responsible for the operation or continued availability of external websites.
A link to an external source does not imply endorsement of all content available from that publisher or website.
7. Acceptable Use
You may not use HowSketchy’s interactive features to:
- manipulate or artificially influence User Ratings;
- use automated systems to submit votes or forms without permission;
- circumvent voting or security restrictions;
- knowingly submit fabricated or materially misleading information;
- interfere with the operation or security of the Site; or
- use the Site for unlawful purposes.
HowSketchy may restrict access to interactive functionality where reasonably necessary to prevent abuse or protect the integrity and security of the project.
8. Privacy
HowSketchy is designed to collect as little information about visitors as reasonably possible.
There are no advertising systems and no analytics or behavioural tracking services.
Voting
When a User Rating is submitted, the Site processes the visitor’s IP address and browser user-agent information in order to generate a pseudonymous identifier.
The purpose of this processing is to enforce voting restrictions, prevent duplicate voting and protect the rating system against manipulation and abuse.
The original IP address and user-agent values are not stored as part of the voting record. The resulting identifier is retained for as long as reasonably necessary to operate and protect the rating system.
It is not used for advertising, visitor profiling or cross-site tracking.
Forms
Information submitted through HowSketchy’s forms is used solely for editorial review, corrections, administration and related purposes.
HowSketchy does not intentionally request unnecessary personal information through these forms.
Submitted material may be retained for as long as reasonably relevant to the editorial review, sourcing, correction or historical record to which it relates.
Editor Accounts
HowSketchy maintains accounts for its editors. These contain the information necessary to authenticate editors and provide access to the site’s editorial functions, including an email address and account credentials.
These accounts are not publicly accessible.
Hosting and Technical Logs
HowSketchy operates using WordPress and ordinary web-hosting infrastructure.
As with most websites, the hosting infrastructure may temporarily process technical information such as IP addresses, request times, browser information and requested pages in standard server or security logs.
Such information is used for hosting, technical operation, troubleshooting and security rather than advertising or behavioural tracking. Retention of technical logs is limited according to operational and security requirements and the configuration of the hosting environment.
Cookies
HowSketchy does not use advertising or analytics tracking cookies.
Technically necessary cookies may be used where required for essential Site functionality, such as authenticated editor sessions.
Sharing of Personal Data
HowSketchy does not sell personal data and does not provide visitor information to advertisers or data brokers.
Technical information may necessarily be processed by the Site’s hosting infrastructure in order to provide and secure the website.
Information may also be disclosed where legally required by a valid and applicable legal obligation.
9. Journalistic Processing
Information concerning artists contained in the HowSketchy archive is processed for editorial, journalistic and public-information purposes.
Dutch law provides specific rules concerning the processing of personal data exclusively for journalistic purposes, including Article 43 of the Dutch GDPR Implementation Act (Uitvoeringswet Algemene verordening gegevensbescherming).
These rules seek to reconcile privacy and data protection with freedom of expression and information.
HowSketchy nevertheless aims to apply principles of accuracy, relevance, data minimisation and appropriate security to its editorial processing.
Requests concerning published information can be made through the correction and contact forms available on the Site.
Whether a particular request results in correction, contextualisation or removal depends on the circumstances, the relevant source material, the public interest and applicable law.
10. Availability and Liability
HowSketchy aims to maintain an accurate, properly sourced and reliable archive, but information may develop or change after publication.
Readers should therefore consider publication dates, the stated status of a finding and the underlying source material.
HowSketchy does not guarantee uninterrupted availability of the Site or that third-party sources will remain available.
Nothing on the Site constitutes legal or other professional advice.
Nothing in this notice excludes or limits liability where such exclusion or limitation would not be permitted by applicable law.
11. Applicable Law
HowSketchy is operated from the Netherlands.
These terms and the use of the Site are governed by Dutch law, subject to any mandatory legal protections that apply irrespective of this provision.
12. Changes
This page may be updated when HowSketchy’s functionality, editorial practices or applicable legal requirements change.
The current version and its latest revision date will be published here.
13. Contact, Corrections and Legal Requests
HowSketchy does not maintain a public email address or telephone contact point.
Corrections, editorial requests, privacy questions and other enquiries can be submitted through the relevant forms provided on the Site.
Requests are reviewed manually.