Governance Overview

Vettly provides the infrastructure for auditable, defensible, reproducible decisions. This section covers the governance capabilities that distinguish Vettly from classification APIs.

Why Governance Matters

Every automated decision your platform makes is a potential liability—not because the decision was wrong, but because you can't prove it was right.

When these stakeholders come asking:

Stakeholder	Question	What You Need
Regulators	"How do you moderate content?"	Documented policies, consistent application
Lawyers	"Why was this content allowed/removed?"	Complete decision record
Users	"Why was my content blocked?"	Clear explanation, appeal process
Auditors	"Show us your moderation history"	Exportable audit trails

Classification APIs can't answer these questions. Vettly can.

Core Concepts

Decision Records

Every judgment produces a complete audit record with a unique ID. This ID links to:

• Exact policy version in effect
• Input content hash (for verification)
• Provider response and scores
• Final action taken
• Context metadata

Learn about Decision Records →

Policy Versioning

Policies are version-controlled YAML files that define:

• Category thresholds
• Graduated actions (allow/warn/flag/block)
• Provider configuration
• Custom rules

When policies change, you can track how decisions would differ and re-evaluate historical content.

Learn about Policy Versioning →

Audit Trails

Complete decision history is preserved and exportable:

• Filter by date range, action, category
• Export as CSV or JSON
• Generate compliance reports
• Support legal hold requirements

Learn about Audit Trails →

Appeals Workflow

Built-in due process for contested decisions:

• User notification templates
• Review queue for flagged content
• Re-evaluation under current policy
• Complete appeal trail preservation

Learn about Appeals →

Compliance Support

DSA (Digital Services Act)

Article 17 requires platforms to provide:

• Statement of reasons for content decisions
• Information about appeal mechanisms
• Access to out-of-court dispute settlement

Vettly provides the infrastructure to meet these requirements.

Learn about DSA Compliance →

Evidence Preservation

GDPR-compliant evidence storage:

• Content preservation for flagged decisions
• Retention policies by category
• Secure access controls
• Right to erasure support

Learn about Evidence Preservation →

Legal Discovery

When litigation requires complete decision history:

• Legal hold on specific decisions
• Evidence chain export
• Decision reconstruction
• Policy history documentation

Learn about Legal Discovery →

Getting Started

1. Enable Decision Logging

const vettly = new VettlyClient({
  apiKey: 'your-api-key',
  logging: {
    enabled: true,
    retention: '90d' // Keep decisions for 90 days
  }
})

2. Attach Context

const decision = await vettly.check({
  content: post.body,
  context: {
    userId: user.id,
    sessionId: session.id,
    ipAddress: request.ip,
    custom: { postType: 'comment' }
  }
})

3. Use Decision IDs

// Store the decision ID with your content
await db.posts.update({
  where: { id: post.id },
  data: { moderationDecisionId: decision.id }
})

// Later: retrieve for appeals, audits, legal
const decision = await vettly.getDecision(storedDecisionId)

Next Steps

• Decision Records - Understand the anatomy of a decision
• Policy Versioning - Manage policy changes
• Audit Trails - Export and analyze decisions
• Appeals Workflow - Handle contested decisions