home > digital communications > policies & standards > terms of service agreements > negotiating a terms of service agreement federal-compatible terms of service (tos) agreements are special agreements negotiated between the federal government and many vendors who offer social media, mobile, business and other digital tools. a federal-compatible tos is required for official government use of social media tools that are offered to the agency at no cost. program staff are typically the first to identify innovative third-party tools that may not have an established tos amendment for use by the federal government. there are many reasons why a vendor may be resistant to developing a federal friendly tos (lack of time, priority, legal support, understanding/ familiarity, interest, money, etc.). federal agencies wishing to work with vendors should be prepared to explain the background, importance, and benefits of a federal-friendly terms of service amendment to companies that are unfamiliar with doing business with the federal government after explaining the benefits of adopting a federal-friendly tos amendment, agencies will want to reassure vendors that the process can be simple and speedy.
building the relationship with the vendor is also important, because many vendors are interested in your feedback on the tool and potential improvements to meet the needs of their new federal market. keep in mind that the tos is intended to make it legally acceptable for federal agencies to obtain services from a vendor. while these tos amendments resolve the major legal issues of the sign-up process, agencies are responsible for reviewing the product in the context of their needs and objectives, as well as the applicable laws and regulations on security, privacy, accessibility, records retention, ethical use, and other specific agency policies and requirements when using the tools. your work will not only help your team to innovate, but will also open up doors for innovation across your agency and the federal government. u.s. department of health & human services 200 independence avenue, s.w.
however, the standard terms of service (or terms of use) for most free digital products and services are incompatible with federal law, regulation, or practice. gsa leads this effort to reduce the need for dozens of agencies to negotiate tos agreements and to streamline negotiations with vendors through a single point of contact. federal friendly terms of service for distribution agreements have been negotiated with amazon appstore and blackberry app world. see what’s available: consult the list of free products and services with federal tos agreements.
work with your agency point of contact: before you decide to use a tool, work with your agency’s point-of-contact for social media tools and your general counsel for other tools and services. if approved, create an account: if your agency point of contact approves and your agency has a signed tos for that tool, you can work with your agency point of contact to set up your new account. gsa welcomes expressions of interest from providers who want to offer, for the federal government’s consideration, products that are free of charge. gsa developed a model tos template (ms word, 55 kb, 5 pages, october 2011) listing the points, issues, and concerns that typically arise in standard terms of service and are problematic for federal agencies.
terms of service are the legal agreements between a service provider and a person who wants to use that service. the person must agree to abide by the terms of service in order to use the offered service. terms of service can also be merely a disclaimer, especially regarding the use of websites. a tos agreement, or terms of service agreement, is a set of rules and conditions that a provider attaches to an internet-delivered product or software terms of service (also known as terms of use and terms and conditions, commonly abbreviated as tos or tos, tou or t&c) are the legal agreements between a a federal-compatible terms of service (tos) agreement is required for official government use of social media tools that are offered to the agency at no, terms of service agreement sample, terms of service agreement sample, difference between terms and conditions, terms of service google, terms of use template.
federal-compatible terms of service (tos) agreements are special agreements negotiated between the federal government and many vendors who offer social these kinds of agreements are so common in the digital world that most consumers understand the use of a terms-of-service agreement and must often agree to a guide to the agreements negotiated between the federal government and vendors who offer digital tools and services. alert. the terms of service (tos) program, terms and conditions meaning, terms of service didn’t read, terms of service generator, terms of service youtube, terms of service agreement template free, terms of service for small business, facebook terms of service, terms of service website, apple terms and conditions, terms of agreement definition.
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