PLEASE REVIEW BEFORE USING THIS WEBSITE – IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS OF USE, DO NOT USE THIS WEBSITE.

General Description

Welcome to the database website for LocalLens, Inc. (LL). The mission of LL is to be a starting point for advocates, organizations, and journalists conducting local government research in the United States (the “Services”) through our website available at www.thelocallens.org (the “Site”). To provide the Services, we have to set out some ground rules for using the Site in this document (the “Terms”). By accessing, using, or contributing to the Services or the Site, and in consideration for the Services we provide to you, you agree to abide by the Terms. If at any time you do not wish to accept the Terms, you may not use the Site.

LL may change the Terms from time to time, at LL’s sole discretion. Your continued use of the Site following the posting of such changes will constitute your assent to all such changes. Please periodically visit this section of the Site to review the current version of the Terms.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are rapidly evolving fields of study. We are constantly working to improve our Services to make them more accurate, reliable, and beneficial. Given the probabilistic nature of Large Language Models, use of our Services may in some situations result in articles that do not accurately reflect real people, places, or facts. You should evaluate the accuracy of any article as appropriate for your use case, including by using human review of articles and checking the source of each article linked to at the bottom of the article.

User Representations. In using the Site, you represent, warrant and agree that you have read and agree to be bound by the Terms and shall: (i) comply with U.S. law regarding the transmission of any data obtained from the Site in accordance with the Terms; (ii) not to use the Site for illegal purposes or in any way that may cause harm to any person or business entity; and (iii) not interfere with or disrupt networks connected to the Site.

Additional User Representations. By using the Site, you represent, warrant and covenant that you: (i) are over the age of 13; (ii) have the power and authority to enter into this Agreement; (iii) shall not use any rights granted hereunder for any unlawful purpose; and (iv) shall use the Site only as set forth in these Terms.

If you are under the age of 13, you may not use the Site.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY and LIMITATION OF LIABILITIES

You agree that your use of the Site is at your sole risk and acknowledge that the Site and anything contained therein, including, but not limited to, content, services, goods or advertisements (the “Items”) are provided “AS IS” and that LL MAKES NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE ITEMS, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, MERCHANTABILITY, INFRINGEMENT, TITLE OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE. You agree that LL, its suppliers and its third-party agents shall have no responsibility or liability for: (i) any injury or damages, whether caused by the negligence of LL, its employees, subcontractors, agents, suppliers or otherwise arising in connection with the Site; (ii) any fault, inaccuracy, omission, delay or any other failure in the Site; or (iii) any reliance upon the content of the Site. The content of other websites, services, goods or advertisements that may be linked to the Site is not maintained or controlled by LL. LL is therefore not responsible for the availability, content or accuracy of other websites, services or goods that may be linked to, or advertised on, the Site. LL does not: (a) make any warranty, express or implied, with respect to the use of the links provided on, or to, the Site; (b) guarantee the accuracy, completeness, usefulness or adequacy of any other websites, services, goods or advertisements that may be linked to the Site; or (c) make any endorsement, express or implied, of any other websites, services, goods or advertisements that may be linked to the Site. You understand that LL and/or any suppliers may choose at any time to inhibit or prohibit their content from being accessed under the Terms.  You understand that LL reserves the right to monitor and remove content that it may deem inappropriate.  You understand that LL does not have the obligation to monitor and remove any objectionable content at any time.

LL is not responsible for typographical errors or omissions, including those relating to pricing, text or photography. While LL attempts to make your access and use of the Site and services safe, LL cannot and does not represent or warrant that the Site and its content are free of viruses or other harmful components; therefore, you should use industry-recognized software to detect and disinfect viruses from any download. 

IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF LL, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, WARRANTY, TORT (INCLUDING NEGIGENCE, WHETHER ACTIVE, PASSIVE OR IMPUTED), PRODUCT LIABILITY, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHER THEORY, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE EXCEED ANY COMPENSATION YOU PAY, IF ANY, TO LL FOR ACCESS TO OR USE OF THE SITE. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

Indemnification. 

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless LL, its independent contractors, service providers and consultants, and their respective directors, employees and agents, from and against any claims, damages, costs, liabilities and expenses (including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys’ fees) including, without limitation, any actual or threatened suit, demand or claim made against LL and/or its independent contractors, service providers, employees, directors or consultants, which may arise out of or are in any way connected with your access, visitation and/or use of the Site, unauthorized use of content obtained on or through the Site, breach or alleged breach of the Terms, breach of your representations and warranties, or from any of your acts or omissions in connection with the Site.

Community Participation

Browsing

You understand that material made available using public records and large language models. The LocalLens assumes no responsibility for the accuracy, suitability, or completeness of any content provided.

Linking

You understand that the LocalLens does not and cannot review all material made available through websites linked or linking to any part of the Site. You also understand that no such linking implies in any way that the LocalLens endorses or is affiliated with any third-party website. You agree that the LocalLens bears no responsibility or liability for any content accessed or harm caused from any third-party website.

Acts Against the Site/Services

You shall not attempt or engage in potentially harmful acts that are directed against the Site or Services including, without limitation, the following:

(a) Using the Site or Services in contravention of any other agreement to which you are a party, including without limitation any employment agreement to which you may be a party; (b) emulating or faking usage of the Site or Services; (c) violating or attempting to violate any security features of the Site; (d) using manual or automated software, devices, scripts, robots, or other means or processes to access, “scrape,” “crawl,” or “spider” any pages contained in the Site; (e) introducing viruses, worms, software, Trojan horses, or other similar harmful code into the Site or Services; (f) interfering or attempting to interfere with the use of the Site by any other user, host, or network, including without limitation by means of submitting a virus, overloading, “flooding,” “spamming,” “mail bombing,” “pinging,” or “crashing” the Site; (g) causing, allowing or assisting machines, bots, or automated services to access or use the Site or Services without the express written permission of LL; (h) tampering with the operation, functionality, or the security of the Site or Services; (i) attempting to override or circumvent any security or usage rules embedded into the Site or Services that permit digital materials to be protected; (j) attempting to probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Site, or any associated system or network, or breach any security or authentication measures; (k) misusing, tricking, disrupting, or otherwise interfering with the functioning of the Site or Services; (l) harvesting or collecting email addresses or other contact information of other users or clients from the Site by electronic or other means; (m) reverse engineering, decompiling, disassembling, deciphering, or otherwise attempting to derive the source code for any underlying intellectual property used to provide the Site or Services; and, (n) engaging in “framing,” “mirroring,” or otherwise simulating the appearance or function of the Site.

Violations of system or network security may result in civil or criminal liability. You agree that it is your responsibility to install anti-virus software and related protections against viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancelbots, or other computer programming routines or engines that are intended to damage, destroy, disrupt, or otherwise impair a computer’s functionality or operation.

Parental Notice

Pursuant to 47 U.S.C. Section 230(d) as amended, LL hereby notifies you that parental control protections (such as computer hardware, software, or filter services) are commercially available that may assist you in limiting access to material that is harmful to minors. Information identifying current providers of such protection is available on the Internet (e.g., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_content-control_software).

Indemnities

You acknowledge and agree to indemnify and hold LL and LocalLens, Inc. and their affiliates, officers, employees and agents, harmless, including costs and attorneys’ fees, from any claim or demand made by any third party due to or arising out of your use of the Site or Services, your violation of these Terms, or the infringement by you or made under your LL Account(s), of any intellectual property or other right of any person or entity.

Content

Personal use

The contents of the Services, including the Site, are intended for your personal, noncommercial use. All materials published or available on the Services (including, but not limited to text, photographs, images, illustrations, designs, audio clips, video clips, “look and feel,” metadata, data, or compilations, all also known as the “Content”) are protected by copyright, and owned or controlled by LL or the party credited as the provider of the Content. LL also owns copyright in the selection, coordination, compilation, and enhancement of such Content (“Arrangement”). You shall abide by all additional copyright notices, information, or restrictions contained in any Content accessed through the Service.

You may download or copy the Content and other downloadable items displayed on the Services for your personal use only, provided that you maintain all copyright and other notices contained therein. Copying or storing of any Content for other than personal use is expressly prohibited without prior written permission from LL.

Copyright

The Services and Content are protected by copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, database rights, sui generis rights and other intellectual or proprietary rights therein pursuant to U.S. and international laws. You may not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, reproduce (except as provided in the “Personal use” section above in these Terms), create new works from, distribute, perform, display (including framing and inline linking), communicate to the public or in any way exploit, any of the Content or the Services (including Software) in whole or in part.

Digital Millennium Copyright Act. 

LL, pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, designates Matthew Post to receive complaints and notices of suspected copyright infringement. If you believe that your work has been copied and is accessible on this Site in a way that constitutes infringement, you may notify LL by providing the following information:

(I) An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest;

(II) A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed, including the URL (i.e., web page address) of the location where the copyrighted work exists or a copy of the copyrighted work;

(III) Identification of the URL or other specific location on this Site where the material that you claim is infringing is located;

(IV) Your address, telephone number and e-mail address;

(V) A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;

(VI) A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf.                     

Mr. Post can be reached via e-mail at hello+copyright@thelocallens.org. 

Other Terms

Modifications

LL reserves the right to change, at any time, at our sole discretion, the Terms under which these Services are offered. You are responsible for regularly reviewing the Terms. Your continued use of the Site and Services constitutes your agreement to all such Terms.

Termination of Service

LL disclaims all responsibility and liability for the availability, timeliness, security or reliability of the Services or Site, or any software provided through the Site. LL reserves the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue the Services or access to the Site without any notice at any time and without any liability to you.

Scope of Terms

The Terms apply to use of and contribution to the Site and any account provided therefore. LL may operate additional projects or services which require separate or additional terms. Such different terms are made available through the individual project or service and are not addressed further herein.

No Waiver of Terms

Failure of LL to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not be deemed a waiver of such right or provision in that or any other instance.

Governing Law and Entire Agreement

These Terms are governed by the laws of the state of Maryland, without regard to the rules of conflict of law that may cause the laws of another jurisdiction to apply. You agree to the sole and exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the federal or state courts serving Montgomery County in the state of Maryland in the event of any dispute of any kind arising from or relating to the Site or Services, or your use or review of it. The Terms constitute the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes and replaces all prior or contemporaneous understandings or agreements, written or oral, regarding such subject matter. If for any reason a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision or portion of these Terms to be unenforceable, the remainder of the Terms will continue in full force and effect.

Miscellaneous. 

If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part in any jurisdiction, that provision shall be ineffective in that jurisdiction without affecting the validity or enforceability of the remaining provisions of these Terms.  The section headings are for reference and the convenience of the readers and shall not constitute part of these Terms for interpretation purposes. These Terms (and the other LL agreements referenced above) constitute the entire and only agreement between you and LL and supersede all prior or contemporaneous agreements, representations, warranties and understandings with respect to the subject matter hereof. The failure to enforce any provision of these Terms shall not be deemed a waiver of such provision nor of the right to enforce such provision. You agree that all notices, disclosures, and other communications that LL provides to you electronically (including by e-mail) satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.

If you do not agree to the terms and conditions herein, YOU MAY NOT use this Site.

These terms were partially adapted from the Digital Media Law Project’s Terms of Use, which can be found here: https://www.dmlp.org/website-terms-use.