Terms of Service

2. Our Mission & Nature of Services

The CFA is an Independent News and Research Organization.

• Not a Government Agency: We are a private limited liability company. We are not affiliated with the GAO, the OIG, or any federal entity.
• Journalistic Purpose: Our Scorecards, Reports, and Data visualizations constitute opinion and analysis protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
• No Legal Advice: Our findings regarding "Compliance" or "Illegality" are based on our analysis of public records. They do not constitute legal counsel. You should not make binding legal or investment decisions based solely on our data without independent verification.

3. Intellectual Property & Citation

• Ownership: All content (text, code, algorithms, scorecards, and the "Redacted Checkmark" logo) is the property of CFA or its licensors.
• Permitted Use (The "Citation" License):
  • Journalists/Researchers: You MAY cite our data, reproduce our charts, and quote our reports, provided you attribute “Center for Federal Accountability” with a link back to the source page.
  • Commercial Use: You MAY NOT resell, repackage, or systematically scrape our data for commercial products (e.g., selling our “Lead List” to sales teams) without an Enterprise License.

4. User Conduct & Prohibited Acts

You agree NOT to:

1. Reverse Engineer: Attempt to derive the identity of our confidential sources or whistleblowers through traffic analysis or digital forensics.
2. Automated Scraping: Use bots, spiders, or scrapers to access the Site without our express written permission (robots.txt adherence required).
3. Interference: Attack the Site via DDoS, injection, or other malicious means.
4. Impersonation: Pretend to be a CFA auditor to intimidate government officials or contractors.

5. Subscriptions & Payments

• The "Intelligence Brief" (Paid Tiers): Subscriptions are billed in advance on a monthly or annual basis.
• Cancellation: You may cancel at any time. Access will continue until the end of the current billing cycle. We do not offer refunds for partial months.
• Price Changes: We reserve the right to change pricing with 30 days' notice.

6. Disclaimer of Warranties (The "No Reliance" Clause)

THE SITE AND DATA ARE PROVIDED "AS IS."

We make no warranties regarding the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the government data we aggregate.

• Example: If SAM.gov contains an error, and we report that error, we are not liable for the inaccuracy.
• Liability Cap: To the maximum extent permitted by law, CFA’s liability for any claim related to your use of the Site is limited to the amount you paid us in the last 12 months (or $100 if you are a free user).

7. The "Government Contractor" Clause

If you are a vendor mentioned in our reports:

• No Takedowns: We do not remove factual public record data (e.g., your contract award amount, your FedRAMP status) upon request.
• Correction Process: If you believe a Scorecard is factually incorrect (e.g., we claimed you lacked an ATO, but you have one), you may submit evidence to [email protected]. We will review and update the record if proven. We do not remove records solely because they are "embarrassing."

8. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

• Jurisdiction: These Terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
• Venue: Any legal action must be filed in the courts located in Fairfax County, Virginia.
• Anti-SLAPP Notice: The CFA aggressively defends against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP). If you sue us for defamation based on our public interest reporting, we will seek immediate dismissal and attorney’s fees under Virginia’s Anti-SLAPP statute (Va. Code § 8.01-223.2).