Terms Of Service

Federal-Compatible Terms of Service Agreements

Agreements negotiated between the federal government and vendors who offer digital tools and services.
Antideficiency Act Implications of Certain Online Terms of Service Agreements

This memo contains the opinion by the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and sheds light on specific, problematic terms of use in social media products.
Guidance for Social Media Providers

GSA welcomes interest from providers that want to offer, for the federal government’s consideration, social media products that are free of charge. If you are such a provider, please email GSA and include the following information: Explanation of the
Negotiated Terms of Service Agreements

The list of free tools that have federal-compatible terms of service agreements.
Agency Points of Contact for Federal Compatible Terms of Service Agreements

The list of cabinet and non-cabinet agency points of contact for the federal-compatible Terms of Service agreements.

News and Events on Terms Of Service

23 posts

Gettin’ Giphy With It: NARA Shares Online Library of Animated Gifs

Hi there, DigitalGov! Have you looked in vain for quality animated GIFs from a reputable source? Have your searches left you annoyed and frustrated because you can’t find a GIF with properly attributed and sourced content? Wondering what you can do and where to look? Come on over to the new Giphy channel from the

Darren Cole

Mary King

Kristen Albrittain

Sep 23, 2016

New U.S. Digital Registry Authenticates Official Public Service Accounts

Whether for voter registration, health services or questions about taxes, trusting what and who you engage with online is critical. We’d like to introduce to you a new API-generating repository for official third-party sites, social media platforms and mobile apps in the United States federal government that can help you

Justin Herman

Feb 03, 2016

DigitalGov’s 2015 Year in Review

As we look ahead to 2016, we wanted to take a minute to look at our most popular content in 2015 and reflect on our second year. This was a big year for DigitalGov as we saw our session traffic nearly double and our weekly and daily email subscribers increase by 15%. DigitalGov was also

Andrea Sigritz

Dec 31, 2015

Trends on Tuesday: How Much Does It Cost to Go Mobile?

A penny saved is a penny earned. But spending your pennies on mobile development is necessary to meet 21st century needs.

Ashley Wichman

Sep 29, 2015

Negotiating a Mobile Terms of Service Agreement

In our personal lives, most of us barely pay attention to Terms of Service (TOS) agreements. But in our professional lives, as federal employees, mindlessly clicking through a TOS is not an option. The DigitalGov article Getting to Yes: Working with Vendors to Secure Terms of Service and Federal Friendly Pricing explored the legal dilemmas

Ashley Wichman

Sep 25, 2015

Facts on the Federal-Compatible Terms of Service Agreement for Yelp

We’ve been excited to see the outpouring of interest this week in response to Yelp’s decision to amend their terms of service for official government use, a clear message that citizens want more ways to ensure their voices are heard by the public programs that serve them. Yelp is just one of dozens of platforms

Justin Herman

Aug 20, 2015

Five-Star Customer Experience in Public Service with Yelp

Adding customer satisfaction ratings and reviews to public services just got easier now that Yelp offers a terms of service for official government use. Yelp, a Web and mobile-based user review platform, hosts insights from “real people

Justin Herman

Aug 07, 2015

Is It Time to Try Medium? New Federal-Friendly Terms of Service

What is Medium? Good question. Is it a publishing platform, a social network, a distribution channel, a 21st century version of the op-ed page, or something else? With a continuously evolving feature-set, Medium defies simple classification. Perhaps it is best to think about Medium in terms of what you can accomplish with it. With a

Dana Allen-Greil

Jul 17, 2015

Engaging Audiences Through Quora

There’s no doubt that traditional social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have transformed how we communicate with stakeholders. Quora is another tool for agencies seeking to engage highly-educated thought leaders and influencers, policy makers, entrepreneurs, scientists, engineers and journalists worldwide. The brainchild of two former Facebook employees with the backing of Wikipedia’s founder, Quora aims to

Carolyn Hinkley

Jun 25, 2015

#SocialGov Round Up 2015

The #SocialGov Community is coming up on three years of hard work and pushing the boundaries on using social tools across the federal government. I’d like to start this round up by taking a look at the event we hosted last year, State of the #SocialGov 2014: 2 Years of Smashing Silos + Elevating Citizen

Alycia Piazza

Jun 08, 2015

The API Briefing: Building Apps with APIs Using If This Then That

In my last posting, I argued that federal agencies should consider microservices architecture when releasing APIs. This is because allowing users to combine single-purpose apps together in unique ways helps people build personalized apps such as a driving map to local farmers markets. When given the opportunity, users will surprise you with the innovative creations

Bill Brantley

Feb 18, 2015

8 New Federal-Friendly Apps and Services

Tackling technology tasks just got easier. Recently, federal agencies negotiated eight new Terms of Service (TOS) Agreements for free apps and services. DigitalGov has an extensive list of federal-friendly TOS agreements for free products, and the list is updated as new TOS agreements are created. Cyfe Cyfe, a business dashboard app, helps users monitor diverse data

Ashley Wichman

Dan Kenny

Feb 18, 2015

Getting to Yes: Working with Vendors to Secure Terms of Service and Federal Friendly Pricing

The federal government is one of the largest consumers of products and services in the United States. Yet, many agencies face tight budgets and firm guidelines that restrict the parameters under which agencies can use a product or service to complete projects.

Clair Koroma

Kathryn Hambleton

Feb 06, 2015

New NHTSA App Uses Yelp API

The U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently unveiled a new mobile app to help people who have been drinking get a safe ride home. The ‘SaferRide’ mobile app, gives holiday revelers an easy way to find a ride home when they’ve had too much to drink instead of getting

Glaceria Mason

Jan 26, 2015

SaferRide App Could Save Your Life

One death every 52 minutes. That’s how frequently someone died in crashes involving a drunk driver in the U.S. in 2013—10,076 deaths in total. While that number represents a 2.5% reduction in deaths from the previous year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is offering a new mobile app—called SaferRide—to

Kevin Downey

Jan 22, 2015

Stacking Up the Benefits of Openness

Open government, open source, openness. These words are often used in talking about open data, but we sometimes forget that the root of all of this is an open community. Individuals working together to release government data and put it to use to help their neighbors and reach new personal goals. This sense of community

Jeanne Holm

Sep 10, 2014

What Is a “Terms of Service” and How Do I Get One?

Imagine this: You just found a great online tool that can help you do your federal job 100% better. You’re all ready to download it and start conquering the world when someone asks, “Have you checked the Terms of Service?” You’re not sure what they’re

Jonathan Rubin

May 13, 2014

Guidance for U.S. government websites and social media for:

Terms Of Service

Resources on Terms Of Service

Federal-Compatible Terms of Service Agreements

Antideficiency Act Implications of Certain Online Terms of Service Agreements

Guidance for Social Media Providers

Negotiated Terms of Service Agreements

Agency Points of Contact for Federal Compatible Terms of Service Agreements

News and Events on Terms Of Service

Gettin’ Giphy With It: NARA Shares Online Library of Animated Gifs

New U.S. Digital Registry Authenticates Official Public Service Accounts

DigitalGov’s 2015 Year in Review

Trends on Tuesday: How Much Does It Cost to Go Mobile?

Negotiating a Mobile Terms of Service Agreement

Facts on the Federal-Compatible Terms of Service Agreement for Yelp

Five-Star Customer Experience in Public Service with Yelp

Is It Time to Try Medium? New Federal-Friendly Terms of Service

Engaging Audiences Through Quora

#SocialGov Round Up 2015

The API Briefing: Building Apps with APIs Using If This Then That

8 New Federal-Friendly Apps and Services

Getting to Yes: Working with Vendors to Secure Terms of Service and Federal Friendly Pricing

New NHTSA App Uses Yelp API

SaferRide App Could Save Your Life

Stacking Up the Benefits of Openness

What Is a “Terms of Service” and How Do I Get One?