FAQs

On this page, you can find the answers to some frequenly asked questions about FairLoc.

General

What does FairLoc Mean?

FairLoc stands for Fair Localisation. Localisation is a widespread term used in the language industry to refer to the full translation process – i.e. not just taking the content and putting it into a different language, but also adapting it to the specific, local context of its target audience.

The fair part refers to fairness – not just for the linguists who translate texts and produce copy, but for all of us. We believe that a world awash with genuine and creative human content is a better and brighter world to live in. Plus, it’s only fair for companies to tell the world when they are using human-generated content and when they are not. So in short, FairLoc supports a fair world for all of humankind!

You can read more about why FairLoc exists on our origins page. But in short, FairLoc is a response to the increased prevalence of machine translation and generative AI, and the impact these technologies have been having on the translation sector.

We noticed that human work was being marginalised in favour of cheaper costs, and we grew concerned for the future of the industry we all love and cherish so much. That is why we decided to create FairLoc – not to resist technology, but to promote human creativity.

Absolutely not! We recognise that machine translation is a useful technology just like all the other tools translators have adopted over the decades, from CAT tools to translation management platforms. Machine translation can be a great help on certain types of jobs and it allows clients with low budgets to translate texts that would otherwise never be made available in other languages – and we think that’s great!

The problem is when machine translation begins to quash human creativity. Although its capabilities are impressive, MT cannot match the levels of nuance and ingenuity that human translators bring to their work. So FairLoc’s aim is not to rid the world of machine translation, but simply to make sure it’s always a human in the driver’s seat, and not the other way around.

We know that many translators have been struggling as of late. Some have lost work because clients have shifted to machine translation, while others have been reduced to the role of reviewers, often on projects that were never suitable for MT in the first place. This is both frustrating and disheartening.

By shining a light on the value of human creativity in translation, FairLoc’s ambition is to encourage translation buyers to consider the use of machine-translation post-editing more carefully. We hope that this will create more work for human translators and ensure that they are adequately valued for their craft.

FairLoc is largely a trust-based scheme, however we also have a number of mechanisms which we use to make sure that the stamp is not abused. We always provide the FairLoc stamp via an Ambassador such as a translation agency or a freelancer. The Ambassador agrees to monitor usage of the stamp and alert us in the event they have any concerns.

We also have a whistleblowing page on our website which members of the public can use to alert us to any misuse. This might be an employee at a FairLoc Company who knows the business has been using machine translations, or an end customer who has noticed that something is not quite right.

Both the declaration signed by the translation buyer and the cooperation agreement signed by the provider are legally binding documents and we can therefore take legal action against anyone who violates their terms. This provides a strong incentive not to abuse the FairLoc stamp and allows us to operate the scheme without the need for extensive auditing or other impractical forms of verification.

Our digital stamps also provide another layer of assurance. Users are able to click on these stamps to see all the details about their status and history. This will include when the company first signed up to FairLoc and whether or not the stamp is still active. This prevents companies from continuing to use the stamp after we have been made aware of misuse and deactivated the stamp.

Not necessarily! Our model is designed so as not to impose extra costs on translation buyers for choosing human translation as this is already a costlier option compared to MTPE and straight machine translation. The translation provider pays a small fee to support the FairLoc scheme, and for the right to issue our trademarked stamps, but there are no extra costs involved for the buyer.

FairLoc takes data protection very seriously and we comply with both the General Data Protection Regulation and all national legislation concerning privacy and data protection. When you collaborate with FairLoc, either as a translation buyer or a translation provider, we will collect some information such as your company details and data about your translation practices. This will include potentially sensitive information such as the translation agency and solutions you use.

We collect this data for our own administrative processes only and we do not share this information with anybody besides our own data processors and always within the confines of what the law allows. If you would like to read more about how we process personal data, please take a look at our privacy policy here.

For Translation Buyers

I order human translations and want to use fairloc stamp, how do i sign up?

The first step is to contact your language service provider and ask them if they are already signed up as a FairLoc Ambassador. Once they are signed up, you will then need to visit the FairLoc website and sign the FairLoc declaration. This is a commitment to use human translations for all your customer-facing content, with the only exception being certain low-visibility texts as outlines in the declaration.

Once you have signed the declaration, you will officially be considered a FairLoc Company! You will then receive a digital stamp you can include on your website and the right to use the stamp in your printed publications as well.

If your language-service provider does not want to become a FairLoc Ambassador, unfortunately this means you will not be able to use the stamp without switching to another supplier.

Yes! In this case, the in-house translation department fills the role of the language-service provider. They can sign up to be an ambassador and administer all the practicalities involved with this on behalf of the company. To learn more about becoming an Ambassador, click here.

No, becoming a FairLoc Company is free of charge. Instead, FairLoc is funded by its Ambassadors – i.e. the translation providers – who take out a monthly subscription depending on how many stamps they wish to issue. We chose this model because we recognise that opting for human translation is already an increased expense, and we want to make this choice as accessible and affordable as possible.

However, companies who do wish to make a financial contribution to FairLoc and the work that we do are free to do so via our donations page. FairLoc is a non-profit company and all proceeds go towards funding the work that we do. This includes our marketing efforts, website maintenance, administration and maintenance of the stamp functionality and our work to protect against misuse of the stamp.

Essentially, the FairLoc declaration is a commitment to use human translation for all customer-facing translated content. It also stipulates that buyers can use machine-translation post-editing for certain content with low-visibility, such as privacy policies and cookie policies, as well as for all internal communications. In other words, buyers are still free to use MTPE where it makes sense, but they undertake to prioritise human translations where it matters the most.

It is important to keep in mind when signing up that the declaration is a legal document and our way of protecting the FairLoc brand. We will pursue legal action against any company or individual who violates its terms.

Unfortunately, your affiliation with FairLoc is linked to your translation provider. This means that if your translation provider decides to stop supporting the FairLoc scheme, your stamp will lose its validity. When this happens, we encourage buyers to talk to their providers about the importance of the FairLoc scheme and to ask them to reconsider.

If the translation provider does not wish to subscribe to the scheme again and the buyer wants to continue using their FairLoc stamp, they will need to switch to another provider who is an Ambassador of the FairLoc scheme.

We understand this may feel unfair to translation buyers who just want to support a good cause. However, the reason for this is that the translation provider is the guarantor for the human translation ordered by the buyer, and so they are a necessary part of the overall equation. Without them, issuance of the FairLoc stamp is not possible.

FairLoc Companies not only get to display the stamp on their website and their publications, but they can also choose to be featured on the FairLoc website. This is another great way of proudly telling the world you support human creativity. Naturally, it is up to each individual company to decide whether or not they want to be featured. In addition to this, all FairLoc Companies and Ambassadors receive a Content Package upon registration, which contains graphics, templates, and other fun stuff to use in order to proudly showcase your standpoint and market yourself as a defender of Humanity!

When a user clicks on the digital version of your FairLoc stamp, a new tab will open displaying the page on the FairLoc website which confirms the validity of your stamp. This page will show your company name and the date on which you signed the declaration. Although your stamp is linked to your translation provider, this information will not be visible to users. If your translation provider stops being an Ambassador and your stamp loses its validity, this page will simply state that the stamp has expired along with the date on which this happened.

For Translation Providers

I want to offer FairLoc translations to my clients. What do I need to do?

In order to offer FairLoc translations, you will need to sign up as a FairLoc Ambassador. You can choose between a number of different subscription tiers – from Basic to Platinum. The cost and the number of stamps you can issue will depend on the subscription tier you choose.

In addition to paying a monthly subscription, FairLoc Ambassadors must also sign our cooperation agreement. This is a legally binding document which regulates our partnership and sets out your responsibilities as an Ambassador. You can read more about this here.

The cost of a monthly subscription will vary depending on the subscription tier you choose. Our basic tier only allows you to issue a small number of stamps and costs the least, while the other tiers offer more stamps in exchange for a higher fee. We have chosen this model to make FairLoc accessible to all. Over all, we have chosen to keep all subscription costs relatively low, and so we hope that many within the industry will choose to sign up and support the scheme, even if they do not need to issue stamps at all.

For current information about the subscription tiers and pricing, click here.

If your business has grown and you have more clients requesting FairLoc accreditation than your current subscription tier allows, you can always update your subscription. All you need to do is log into your FairLoc account and update your subscription…

All FairLoc Ambassadors sign a cooperation agreement with us. This document sets out your responsibilities as an Ambassador of the scheme. These include monitoring the extent to which stamp-holders order human translation versus machine-translated post-editing services and reporting any inconsistencies to us.

You also agree to promote and to safeguard the FairLoc brand, not to make negative comments or statements about FairLoc, and to generally promote FairLoc by offering the FairLoc stamp via your website. For more information about your responsibilities, check out the sign-up page here.

When you sign our cooperation agreement, you undertake to inform us of any misuse or suspected misuse of the stamps you have issued. This means that if you have issued a stamp to a client and you notice they start placing orders for machine-translation content that is inconsistent with their pledge under the FairLoc declaration, you are obliged to let us know. You should talk with the client first, reminding them of the commitment they made when they signed the FairLoc declaration and warning them that their stamp may be rendered invalid.

Once we are made aware of the issue and following an investigation on our end, we may decide to revoke the stamp if we believe the client is not fulfilling their obligations. This means that when users click on the stamp, they will be redirected to a page on the FairLoc website containing up-to-date information about the history and status of the stamp. It will be made clear on this page that the stamp is no longer valid.

We would encourage you to keep up your subscription and to be a FairLoc Ambassador even if you are not actively issuing stamps. This way, you can help support FairLoc so that we can continue to advocate for the importance of human translation.

It is also worth bearing in mind that companies who unsubscribe have to pay a resubscription fee if they ever wish to sign up again in the future. The cost of this resubscription fee is much higher than what it costs to maintain the subscription over time. It is therefore advantageous to remain an Ambassador even when you are not actively issuing stamps.

Not necessarily! FairLoc is for anybody who believes in the value that humans bring to the translation process. So even if you represent a translation agency that only offers MT services, you can still choose to support FairLoc. You can opt for any of the subscription tiers you like, depending on how much of a contribution you wish to make, and help support the work we do to shape the future of our industry.

No, not at all. You can continue to offer post-editing services as often or as little as you like. However, you cannot issue the FairLoc stamp to clients who primarily order post-edited machine translations for their client-facing content.

No, not at all. You can continue to offer any language services you like, including machine translations and post-editing services. However, you cannot issue FairLoc stamps to clients who primarily order these kinds of services for their customer-facing content. You can only use the FairLoc stamp in conjunction with human-translation services.

Learn more reading our guide!