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Legal Documentation
This directory contains all legal policies and terms of service for Open Navigator.
📋 Documents
User-Facing Legal Policies
index.md - Legal Overview & Quick Reference
- Landing page for legal section
- Quick compliance checklist
- Summary of all legal requirements
terms-of-service.md - Terms of Service
- Main legal agreement governing use of the Service
- Incorporates all third-party provider terms
- Acceptable use policies
- Limitation of liability
- CRITICAL: Most restrictive terms from all providers apply
data-provider-terms.md - Data Provider Terms of Service
- Comprehensive documentation of ALL third-party provider terms
- Rate limits, attribution requirements, usage restrictions
- Compliance summary table
- Contact information for each provider
privacy-policy.md - Privacy Policy
- How we collect, use, and protect information
- Your privacy rights (CCPA, GDPR)
- Public records exceptions
- Data retention policies
🚨 Critical Compliance Requirements
Charity Navigator (MOST RESTRICTIVE)
- ✅ MUST display "Powered by Charity Navigator" on ALL pages using their data
- ✅ MUST link charity names to CN profile pages
- ✅ MUST include trademark notice
- ❌ Maximum 1,000 API calls per day (STRICT)
- ❌ NO redistribution of CN data
- ❌ NO competing rating systems
Google Services
- ✅ MUST display "Data provided by Google"
- ❌ Civic API data CANNOT be cached beyond 30 days
- ❌ Must comply with Google Cloud Terms of Service
ProPublica
- ✅ MUST provide attribution to ProPublica
- ❌ CRITICAL: FEC Campaign Finance data CANNOT be used for commercial solicitation
Open States
- ✅ MUST display "Powered by Open States"
- ❌ 50,000 requests/month free tier
DBpedia
- ✅ MUST attribute to DBpedia and Wikipedia
- ✅ CC BY-SA 3.0 (share-alike applies to derivative works)
📊 Compliance Philosophy
Most Restrictive Terms Apply:
- Our Terms of Service incorporate requirements from ALL data providers
- Where multiple providers have conflicting terms, the MOST RESTRICTIVE applies
- Users must comply with ALL applicable provider terms
Example:
- If Provider A allows 10,000 API calls/day
- And Provider B allows only 1,000 API calls/day
- And you use both: You must respect the 1,000/day limit for Provider B's data
🔄 Maintenance
Review Schedule
- Quarterly: Review all provider terms for changes
- As needed: Update when providers announce ToS changes
- Version control: All changes tracked via Git
How to Update
- Check provider websites for updated terms
- Update corresponding section in data-provider-terms.md
- Update version date and last review date
- Test documentation build to ensure no broken links
- Commit with clear message describing changes
Monitoring Provider Changes
Automated monitoring (planned):
- GitHub Actions to check provider ToS pages
- Alerts when changes detected
- Quarterly reminder to review all terms
Manual monitoring:
- Subscribe to provider newsletters
- Watch provider GitHub repositories
- Monitor civic tech forums for ToS discussions
📞 Questions & Issues
For users asking about compliance:
- Direct to Legal Overview first
- Specific questions → Data Provider Terms
- Privacy questions → Privacy Policy
For reporting compliance issues:
- GitHub Issues: https://github.com/getcommunityone/open-navigator-for-engagement/issues
- Label:
legalorcompliance - Email: [contact email] for sensitive matters
🎯 Quick Links
For Developers:
- Legal Overview - Start here
- Data Provider Terms - Technical details
- ../legal-compliance.md - Implementation details
For Users:
- Terms of Service - Your agreement
- Privacy Policy - Your privacy
- Legal Overview - Quick reference
For Data Users:
- Data Provider Terms - All provider requirements
- ../data-sources/citations.md - Academic citations
- Terms of Service - Your obligations
📚 Related Documentation
- Citations & Data Sources - Academic citations
- Legal Compliance (Technical) - Implementation details
- GitHub LICENSE - Software license (MIT)
Last Updated: April 28, 2026
Version: 1.0