Terms of Service

1. Acceptance and Scope

1.1 Agreement

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of poltrapro.com and its subdomains (the "Site") operated by PolTraPro LLC ("PTP," "we," "us," "our"). By accessing or using the Site, you ("you" or "User") agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Site.

1.2 The Site is a publication

The Site is a non-partisan publication of political and campaign-finance data drawn from primary public sources, intended for the use of voters, journalists, researchers, advocacy organizations, and the general public. The Site is not a SaaS product, a financial-services platform, or a vendor service for political campaigns. These Terms reflect that. Commercial API access is governed by separate API Terms of Service.

1.3 Effective date

These Terms are effective on the date above. By continuing to use the Site after a revised version is posted, you accept the revised Terms. Material changes are communicated per § 17.

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2. Definitions

For purposes of these Terms:

• "Content" means any text, data, charts, images, methodology documentation, editorial material, or other material displayed on the Site, including primary-source data, PTP-original editorial content, and visualizations.
• "Primary-Source Data" means data drawn from federal or state government records, including FEC filings, Congress.gov, House Clerk filings, Senate Office of Public Records filings, state election agency records, and similar public records. Primary-Source Data is in the public domain at its source.
• "Editorial Content" means PTP-original commentary, summaries, biographical narratives, methodology descriptions, the Money-Vote Gap (MVG) metric, analytical scoring, social-media posts authored or curated by PTP, and similar material.
• "Joined Dataset" means PTP's pre-joined combination of campaign finance, voting records, stock trades, revolving-door connections, prediction-market odds, and other relational joins. The Joined Dataset is PTP's original work product.
• "Personal Use" means individual, non-commercial use including journalism, academic study, civic engagement, voter education, and similar activities.
• "Commercial Use" means use of the Site or its Content in the course of any business activity, including republication for advertising revenue, sale of derivative products, use in vendor services to political campaigns, or use that implicates 52 U.S.C. § 30111(a)(4) or analogous state law.

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3. Content on the Site

3.1 Primary-Source Data is public domain

Most data displayed on the Site is Primary-Source Data drawn from public records. The underlying public-record data is in the public domain. PTP claims no exclusive right in the underlying primary data. PTP's display, joining, classification, visualization, and presentation of that data — including the methodology by which PTP transforms raw filings into the Site's presentation — are PTP's original work and are protected by copyright.

3.2 Editorial Content

Editorial Content — bios, summaries, comparisons, MVG narratives, social posts, methodology descriptions, and similar material authored or curated by PTP — is the opinion of PTP based on linked primary sources. PTP strives for accuracy and source-linking on every factual claim, consistent with the Editorial Standards & Methodology Statement published at poltrapro.com/editorial-standards.

Editorial Content is opinion based on documented public records, presented for the purpose of voter education and public-interest commentary on persons holding or seeking public office. Such content is protected by the First Amendment, the fair-comment privilege, the fair-report privilege (with respect to accurate reporting of public records), the opinion privilege, the state-law press exemption where applicable, and state anti-SLAPP statutes.

3.3 Accuracy disclaimer

Public records are sometimes incomplete, lagged, or contain errors at their source. Third-party data sources (Polymarket, prediction markets, news outlets) may also contain errors. PTP makes a good-faith effort to display data accurately and to mark known gaps (see methodology page and per-page accuracy notes), but does not warrant that all Content is current, complete, or free of error. Users should verify factual claims through primary sources before acting on them.

3.4 Not legal, financial, investment, tax, or political advice

Nothing on the Site constitutes legal advice, financial advice, investment advice, tax advice, accounting advice, political advice, campaign advice, voting advice, or any other professional advice.

In particular:

• Stock-trade disclosures shown on the Site are sourced from Periodic Transaction Reports (PTRs) filed under the STOCK Act and analogous Senate disclosures. The Site reports these transactions for transparency and editorial purposes. PTP is not a registered broker-dealer, investment adviser, financial planner, or commodities trading advisor. The Site does not make recommendations as to any security and is not registered with the SEC, FINRA, CFTC, NFA, or any state securities or commodities regulator. Users should not interpret the display of a politician's trading activity as investment advice.
• Prediction-market odds shown on the Site are sourced from third-party prediction markets (Polymarket, Kalshi, etc.) and reflect those markets' pricing only. The Site is not a prediction market operator, broker, or intermediary. The Site does not solicit trades on any prediction market.
• Voting records and MVG scores are factual reports of how a politician voted and PTP's analytical scoring of that record against industry-disclosed donor positions. They are not endorsements, condemnations, or voting recommendations. The Site is not a Political Action Committee, election service, or vendor to any campaign.
• Campaign-finance information is reported for transparency and editorial purposes. The Site is not a fundraising platform, donation platform, or vendor service to candidates.

Decisions about voting, donations, advocacy, investment, taxation, or any other action are yours alone. Consult appropriate professionals.

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4. Permitted Uses of Site Content

4.1 License to Users

PTP grants Users a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable license to access and use the Site for Personal Use including: voter education, journalism, academic research, civic engagement, advocacy on government transparency and process reform, and similar good-faith non-commercial purposes consistent with these Terms.

4.2 What you may do without further permission

• Quote brief excerpts of Editorial Content with attribution to "Political Transparency Project" or "PTP" and a link to the source page.
• Republish Primary-Source Data displayed on the Site (e.g., FEC totals, vote records) with attribution to the underlying primary source. The underlying public-record data is not exclusive to PTP.
• Embed individual data visualizations or charts via any embed tools PTP provides.
• Cite the Site in academic, journalistic, or educational work consistent with normal citation practice.
• Use Site Content in classroom, library, or other educational settings consistent with fair use.

4.3 What requires prior written permission

• Bulk extraction or scraping of Site Content beyond fair-use sampling, including any automated retrieval beyond what individual web browsing entails.
• Commercial republication of Editorial Content or PTP-original visualizations.
• Use of any PTP Content in commercial advertising, fundraising appeals, or political-campaign material.
• Use of any PTP trademarks or branding (the PTP name, "Political Transparency Project" mark, "@PolTraPro" handle, PTP logo) in any third-party material in a manner exceeding nominative fair use.
• Mass redistribution of Site Content via email, newsletter, or other distribution channel where the principal value of the redistribution derives from the redistributed Content.

For commercial use, contact: PolTraPro@proton.me.

4.4 Prohibited uses

You may not:

4.4.1 § 30111(a)(4) compliance (federal)

Use the Site, the Joined Dataset, or any data displayed on the Site for the purpose of soliciting political contributions or for any commercial purpose that implicates the privacy concerns of 52 U.S.C. § 30111(a)(4) (the FEC sale-or-use prohibition on individual contributor data). This includes any use that violates the implementing regulation at 11 C.F.R. § 104.15.

The news/publication exception recognized by 11 C.F.R. § 104.15(b) permits use in journalism, academic publication, books, and similar communications whose principal purpose is not solicitation or commercial activity. You bear the burden of ensuring your use falls within that exception.

4.4.2 State-level donor-data restrictions

Use Content in a manner that violates state-level commercial-use prohibitions on donor data, including:

• Hawaii (HRS § 11-302)
• Kansas (K.S.A. § 25-4154)
• Maine (21-A M.R.S. § 1005)
• Michigan (MCL Act 388 of 1976 + SOS interpretive rulings)
• Minnesota (Minn. Stat. § 10A.35)
• Pennsylvania (25 P.S. § 3246)
• Wisconsin (Wis. Stat. § 11.1304)

and any other state that has enacted analogous prohibitions on commercial use of state-level donor data.

4.4.3 Harassment, stalking, intimidation

Use the Site or any data displayed on it to harass, intimidate, stalk, threaten, dox, or facilitate violence against any person, including any candidate, contributor, official, staff member, or family member identified on the Site. This prohibition specifically includes:

• Publishing donor home addresses obtained from FEC filings or state disclosures in any manner that could enable harassment, intimidation, stalking, or violence.
• Combining Site Content with reverse-lookup databases or people-search aggregators to compile harassment-enabling profiles.
• Targeting protected persons under Daniel's Law (N.J.S.A. 56:8-166.1 et seq.) or analogous state protected-persons disclosure restrictions.

4.4.4 Technical abuse

Attempt to circumvent rate limits, access controls, authentication mechanisms, or other technical protections; reverse-engineer, decompile, or extract PTP's underlying systems or databases; probe or scan PTP's systems for vulnerabilities except as expressly authorized under a coordinated disclosure program; submit malicious payloads or denial-of-service traffic.

4.4.5 Joined Dataset prohibition

Reproduce or republish the Joined Dataset (the pre-joined combination of donor × vote × trade × revolving-door × markets) as a derivative product, dataset, or feed. Republication of upstream primary-source data is governed by the primary source's own license; the Joined-Dataset prohibition applies only to PTP's original join product.

4.4.6 Misrepresentation

Misrepresent PTP, its Content, or its data in any way that would mislead a reasonable reader about source, accuracy, methodology, or PTP's editorial position. Falsely imply PTP's endorsement of any candidate, party, organization, or commercial product. Use the PTP name, trademark, or branding in any way that implies an affiliation, sponsorship, or partnership that does not exist.

4.4.7 AI training and synthetic content

Use Site Content as a training corpus for machine-learning models, generative or otherwise, without prior written permission. (PTP's methodology disclosures, source-link discipline, and human-approval workflow are not preserved when Content is used as training data for an uncontrolled model; this prohibition protects against propagation of unsourced or detached claims.)

Generate AI-synthesized audio, video, or images depicting any politician, donor, or other identified individual based on Site Content, in any manner that would violate state right-of-publicity laws (Tennessee ELVIS Act T.C.A. § 47-25-1101; California Civ. Code § 3344, AB 2602, AB 1836) or state deepfake laws.

4.4.8 Other unlawful uses

Use the Site in violation of any applicable law, including state and federal consumer-protection laws, anti-spam laws (CAN-SPAM Act), telephone-consumer protection laws (TCPA), electioneering disclosure laws, foreign-agent registration laws (FARA and state Baby FARA in AR, LA, NE, OK, TX), and federal or state criminal law.

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5. Account Features (Watchlist, Email Subscription)

5.1 Email subscriptions

Providing your email address through the footer signup or any in-product form constitutes consent to receive email from PTP relating to the Site, including newsletter digests, watchlist alerts, and product updates. We comply with the CAN-SPAM Act:

• Every commercial email includes a clear unsubscribe link
• Unsubscribe requests are honored within 10 business days (typically immediately)
• Email headers and subject lines are accurate
• Every email includes our physical mailing address

You may unsubscribe at any time using the unsubscribe link in any email or by contacting PolTraPro@proton.me.

5.2 Watchlist

The watchlist feature allows email subscribers to follow specific candidates, committees, or topics and receive notifications when new disclosures appear. Watchlist data is stored as described in the Privacy Policy. PTP does not sell, rent, share, or lease watchlist data with any third party.

5.3 Account features — termination

We reserve the right to terminate access to account features for any User we believe in good faith has violated these Terms, used the features in bad faith, or whose use creates a security or legal risk to PTP. Terminated Users may still access the Site as a non-account-holder.

5.4 Cookies and similar technologies

The Site uses a minimal set of cookies and similar technologies for essential function (session, CSRF protection) and first-party analytics. See Privacy Policy § 3.3 for detail.

5.5 Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control

PTP honors the Global Privacy Control (GPC) browser-based opt-out signal as a request to opt out of "sale" or "sharing" of personal information. PTP does not engage in either practice; the GPC opt-out is honored as a matter of policy alignment.

PTP does not currently respond to legacy "Do Not Track" browser signals (see Privacy Policy § 11.2).

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6. Editorial Content, Comments, and Section 230

6.1 No user-generated content

The Site does not currently host user-generated content, comments, forums, or similar interactive features. The Site's "social-bot" account on third-party platforms (X/Twitter, Telegram) is governed by those platforms' policies. PTP-authored content on those platforms is editorial content under § 3.2 of these Terms.

6.2 Section 230 reservation

If user-generated content or interactive features are added in the future, PTP will publish a separate Community Policy and will rely on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, 47 U.S.C. § 230, with respect to third-party content posted on the Site. PTP reserves all defenses available under Section 230.

6.3 Corrections and retractions

PTP reserves the right to update, correct, or retract any Editorial Content at any time. Significant corrections are marked as such consistent with newsroom practice and the Editorial Standards & Methodology Statement at poltrapro.com/editorial-standards.

If you believe Editorial Content on the Site contains a material error, please contact PolTraPro@proton.me. PTP will review, investigate, and respond in good faith, consistent with the Site's editorial discipline.

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7. Trademarks and Branding

7.1 PTP trademarks

"Political Transparency Project," "PTP," "@PolTraPro," "Money-Vote Gap," "MVG," and any associated logos and stylized marks are trademarks (registered or unregistered) of PolTraPro LLC. All rights reserved.

7.2 Third-party trademarks

All trademarks displayed on the Site that are not PTP marks — including candidate names, party names, political committee names, organization names, ticker symbols, and other third-party marks — are the property of their respective owners.

PTP's use of third-party marks is for identification, journalism, editorial commentary, and educational purposes, consistent with nominative fair use. PTP does not claim affiliation with, endorsement by, or sponsorship by any third party whose mark appears on the Site.

7.3 Permitted uses of PTP marks

You may use PTP marks for nominative fair use — referring to PTP, citing PTP as a source, or describing PTP — without prior written permission, provided you do not imply affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement.

You may not use PTP marks in any commercial product, advertisement, fundraising material, or domain name without prior written permission.

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8. Intellectual Property — Site Content

8.1 PTP-original content

PTP's original work on the Site — Editorial Content, page layouts, visualizations, software code displayed publicly, the Joined Dataset structure, and the methodology — is protected by copyright held by PolTraPro LLC. © 2026 PolTraPro LLC. All rights reserved, except as expressly granted in § 4.

8.2 Public-domain underlying data

Primary-Source Data drawn from federal or state government records is in the public domain at its source. PTP claims no exclusive right in the underlying public-record data.

8.3 Open-source attributions

The Site uses open-source software components. Attribution and license notices for those components are available at poltrapro.com/legal/oss-attributions.

8.4 DMCA — Copyright complaints

PTP complies with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), 17 U.S.C. § 512. Notices of claimed infringement of third-party copyright in Site Content should be submitted to PTP's designated agent in accordance with the procedure described in PTP's DMCA Policy at poltrapro.com/legal/dmca (or DMCA-POLICY.md in repo).

PTP's designated DMCA agent (registered with the U.S. Copyright Office):

Designated Agent registration with the U.S. Copyright Office is pending; pending registration, the electronic contact below is the operative channel. Postal address will be added on completion of Copyright Office registration. Pending registration, electronic notice to the email below is the only accepted channel. PolTraPro@proton.me PTP responds to valid DMCA notices consistent with 17 U.S.C. § 512(c) and operates a repeat-infringer policy as required by § 512(i).

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9. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

9.1 As-is, no warranty

THE SITE AND ALL CONTENT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. PTP DISCLAIMS ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, RELIABILITY, AND UNINTERRUPTED OPERATION, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

PTP DOES NOT WARRANT THAT:

• THE SITE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS
• THE SITE WILL OPERATE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR SECURE
• DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED
• CONTENT IS ACCURATE, CURRENT, OR COMPLETE
• THE SITE OR ANY EMAIL SENT FROM US IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS

9.2 Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, PTP'S TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE SITE SHALL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100).

PTP IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, LOST BUSINESS, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, EVEN IF PTP HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

These limitations apply regardless of the legal theory (contract, tort, statute, or otherwise) on which a claim is based, and regardless of whether any remedy fails of its essential purpose.

These limitations do not apply to liability that cannot be excluded under applicable law, including:

• Liability for gross negligence or willful misconduct
• Liability under specific consumer-protection statutes that prohibit waiver
• Personal-injury liability
• Liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation

9.3 Editorial fair-comment, fair-report, and press-exemption defense

With respect to any claim of defamation, defamation per se, false light invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, tortious interference, or similar tort or statutory claim based on Editorial Content on the Site or PTP's reporting of Primary-Source Data:

9.3.1 Defense layers

PTP relies on, and reserves all rights under:

• The First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 2, Section 6 of the Arizona Constitution
• The NYT v. Sullivan actual-malice standard, 376 U.S. 254 (1964), for public officials and public figures
• The Gertz v. Robert Welch standard, 418 U.S. 323 (1974), for private figures on matters of public concern
• The fair-comment privilege at common law
• The fair-report privilege for accurate reports of public records, including FEC filings, state campaign finance filings, and Congressional records
• The opinion privilege for editorial commentary that does not state or imply false fact
• The press exemption from electioneering communication regulation (federal 52 U.S.C. § 30101(9)(B)(i); state analogs)
• Applicable state anti-SLAPP statutes, including Arizona Revised Statutes § 12-751 et seq.

9.3.2 No claim on accurate reporting of public records

No claim shall be brought against PTP based on accurate quotation of, or accurate reference to, public records or public statements. Accurate reproduction of FEC filings, voting records, public statements, congressional disclosures, or other public records is protected by truth and fair-report privilege.

9.3.3 Anti-SLAPP cost-shifting

If any claim brought against PTP is determined to be a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) under Arizona Revised Statutes § 12-751 or analogous state law, you agree that PTP is entitled to its reasonable attorneys' fees, costs, and expenses, and that such recovery is in addition to (not in limitation of) any other remedy.

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10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless PTP, its officers, members, managers, employees, contractors, agents, successors, and assigns from any claim, demand, action, proceeding, loss, damage, liability, cost, or expense (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to:

• Your breach of these Terms, the Privacy Policy, or applicable law
• Your use of the Site in violation of any law, including state and federal campaign finance laws, consumer-protection laws, anti-spam laws, and election-period restrictions
• Your republication, modification, or commercial use of Content in a manner inconsistent with these Terms
• Your misrepresentation of PTP, its Content, or its data
• Any claim by a third party arising out of your use of Content or your interaction with the Site
• Your violation of any third party's intellectual property, privacy, or publicity rights

PTP reserves the right, at your expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter for which you have agreed to indemnify, and you agree to cooperate with PTP's defense.

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11. Term and Termination

11.1 Term

These Terms remain in effect for so long as you use the Site.

11.2 Termination by you

You may stop using the Site at any time. If you have an account feature (watchlist, email subscription), you may delete it via the Site or by contacting PolTraPro@proton.me.

11.3 Termination by PTP

PTP may suspend or terminate your access to the Site at any time, without prior notice, for violation of these Terms, fraud, illegal activity, abuse, or any other reason at PTP's discretion. The discretion is not subject to a graduated process for §§ 4.4 violations.

11.4 Survival

The following provisions survive termination: §§ 3.3 (accuracy disclaimer), 3.4 (no professional advice), 4.4 (prohibited uses), 7 (trademarks), 8 (IP), 9 (disclaimers/liability), 10 (indemnification), 12 (governing law), 13 (dispute resolution), 14 (severability), 15 (no waiver), 16 (force majeure), 18 (general).

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12. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Arizona, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. The U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply.

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13. Dispute Resolution

13.1 Forum selection

You agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or related to these Terms, the Site, or any Content shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Maricopa County, Arizona, or Pima County, Arizona, and you consent to personal jurisdiction in those courts.

13.2 Defamation claim — forum-selection note

In particular, any claim of defamation, defamation per se, false light, IIED, tortious interference, or similar tort or statutory claim based on Editorial Content on the Site shall, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law and enforceable forum-selection law, be brought exclusively in the Arizona courts identified in § 13.1.

13.3 Class action and arbitration

No class arbitration. No class action. Disputes between you and PTP may be brought only in your individual capacity, not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class or representative proceeding.

13.4 Time limitation

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you must commence any action arising out of or related to these Terms or the Site within one (1) year after the cause of action accrues, or the action is forever barred.

13.5 Equitable relief

Notwithstanding any provision of this § 13, PTP may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction for breaches of §§ 4.4 (prohibited uses), 7 (trademarks), 8 (IP), or any threatened breach that would cause irreparable harm.

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14. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable in any respect, the validity, legality, and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not be affected. The invalid, illegal, or unenforceable provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid, legal, and enforceable while preserving the original intent of the parties.

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15. No Waiver

PTP's failure to enforce any provision of these Terms is not a waiver of that provision. No waiver by PTP is effective unless in writing and signed by an authorized representative of PTP.

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16. Force Majeure

PTP is not liable for any delay or failure to perform under these Terms caused by events beyond PTP's reasonable control, including but not limited to acts of God, natural disasters, war, terrorism, civil unrest, government action, internet or telecommunications outages, denial-of-service attacks, supply-chain disruption, pandemic, or labor disturbance.

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17. Modifications to These Terms

PTP may revise these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be posted to this page with a revised "Last revised" date and, where appropriate, communicated by email to subscribers at least 30 days before they take effect (except where applicable law requires shorter notice). Continued use of the Site after the revised effective date constitutes acceptance.

If you do not agree to a material change, your remedy is to stop using the Site and (if applicable) delete your account features per § 11.2.

A summary of material changes is posted at the top of the revised Terms for one year after the revision.

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18. General

18.1 Entire agreement

These Terms (together with the Privacy Policy and any tier-specific terms referenced from these Terms) constitute the entire agreement between you and PTP with respect to the Site and supersede all prior or contemporaneous agreements, representations, or understandings.

18.2 No assignment by User

You may not assign or transfer these Terms or any rights or obligations hereunder without PTP's prior written consent. PTP may assign these Terms freely in connection with a merger, acquisition, sale of substantially all assets, or other corporate reorganization.

18.3 No third-party beneficiaries

These Terms confer no rights on any person or entity other than you and PTP. There are no third-party beneficiaries.

18.4 Headings

Headings in these Terms are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation.

18.5 Notices

PTP will deliver notices to Users by posting on the Site, by email to the address on file, or by other reasonable means. Notices from you to PTP go to PolTraPro@proton.me or to the mailing address in § 19.

18.6 Independent contractors

Nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, joint venture, employment, or agency relationship between you and PTP.

18.7 Export controls

You agree to comply with all applicable U.S. export-control laws and regulations in your use of the Site.

18.8 Government users

If you access the Site as part of your duties for a federal, state, or local government agency, your use is subject to these Terms unless your agency has entered into a separate agreement with PTP.

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19. Contact

PolTraPro LLC Service-of-process address available on written request via PolTraPro@proton.me