Legal

Terms of Service

Last updated

These terms apply when you use the website at legislate.dev, the account service at accounts.legislate.dev, and the Legislate mobile app (together, the “Service”), which are operated by Legislate.dev (“Legislate.dev”, “we”, “us”). By using the Service, you agree to these terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you don’t agree, please don’t use the Service.

1. The Service

Legislate.dev brings together public information about the United States Congress, including bills, votes, members, committees, and nominations, and adds plain-language summaries and analysis. The Service is free. We may add, change, or remove features, or stop offering the Service, at any time.

2. Not legal advice, and not the government

Everything on the Service is for general information only. It isn’t legal, financial, or political advice, and using it doesn’t create any professional relationship with us.

Legislate.dev is independent. We aren’t affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Congress, the Library of Congress, GovInfo, or any other government body. For the authoritative version of any bill, vote, or law, use the official sources we link to.

3. AI-generated content

Some content, including bill summaries, is generated by AI from official records. We work to keep it accurate, but AI can leave things out, misread text, or make mistakes. Treat it as a starting point, and check the official source before you rely on it. If you spot an error, please tell us.

4. Accounts

You don’t need an account to read the Service. If you create one:

  • You must be at least 13 years old. If you’re under the age of majority where you live, you need a parent or guardian’s permission.
  • Give accurate information, and keep it up to date.
  • Keep your sign-in secure. You’re responsible for what happens under your account. Tell us right away if you think someone else has accessed it.
  • You can delete your account at any time.

5. Acceptable use

When you use the Service, please don’t:

  • break the law, or use the Service to harm, harass, or defraud anyone;
  • overload the Service with automated requests, get around rate limits or security measures, or ignore our robots.txt;
  • try to access accounts, systems, or data that aren’t yours;
  • upload malware or interfere with how the Service works;
  • present the Service or its content as official government material, or suggest that we endorse you, a candidate, or a cause.

If you want to use our data at scale, contact us first. There may be a better way to get it.

6. Content and ownership

Most of the underlying records, such as bill text and roll call votes, are works of the U.S. government and are generally in the public domain. Our own work, including the site’s design, software, summaries, analysis, and charts, belongs to Legislate.dev and is protected by copyright and other laws.

You’re welcome to quote, link to, share, and embed our pages for non-commercial purposes, as long as you credit Legislate.dev and link back to the source page. For any other use, ask us first.

If you send us feedback or suggestions, we may use them to improve the Service without owing you anything.

7. Third-party links, services, and ads

The Service links to official government sites and other websites, and may show ads from third parties. If you sign in with Google, or get the mobile app from the App Store or Google Play, those services’ own terms also apply. We aren’t responsible for third-party sites, services, or ads. Apple and Google aren’t responsible for the Legislate app or its support.

8. Suspension and termination

You can stop using the Service, and delete your account, at any time. We may suspend or end your access if you break these terms, if we have to by law, or to protect the Service or other users. Sections 2, 3, 6, 9, and 10 continue to apply after your access ends.

9. Disclaimer

The Service is provided “as is” and “as available”. To the fullest extent the law allows, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of accuracy, completeness, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We don’t promise that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or up to date. Information can lag behind official sources.

10. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent the law allows, Legislate.dev won’t be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of data, profits, or goodwill, arising from your use of the Service. Our total liability for any claim relating to the Service is limited to US$100. Some places don’t allow these limits, so they may not fully apply to you. Nothing in these terms limits rights you have as a consumer that can’t be waived by contract.

11. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. When we do, we’ll change the date at the top of this page. If a change is significant, we’ll also tell account holders by email or with a notice in the Service before it takes effect. If you keep using the Service after a change takes effect, you accept the updated terms.

12. General

If any part of these terms can’t be enforced, the rest still applies. If we don’t enforce a term right away, we haven’t given up the right to enforce it later. These terms, together with our Privacy Policy, are the whole agreement between you and us about the Service.

13. Contact

Questions about these terms can be sent to [email protected].