1. Acceptance of terms
By accessing or using Mandate (the iOS application, the mandateapp.org website, or any related service operated by Jackson's Golden Assets LLC, operating as Mandate), you agree to these Terms of Service. If you do not agree, do not use Mandate.
2. Description of service
Mandate is a civic intelligence platform. It reads federal legislation, generates plain-English summaries with equal-weight supporter and opponent arguments, tracks how members of Congress vote, and surfaces political news from across the political spectrum. Mandate does not endorse candidates, positions, or parties.
3. Eligibility
You must be at least 13 years old to use Mandate, or 16 in the European Union and United Kingdom. By using Mandate, you represent that you meet the applicable age requirement.
4. Subscriptions and billing
Mandate offers free and paid tiers. Paid subscriptions (currently Voter at $4.99/month and Mandate at $12.99/month, subject to change with notice) renew automatically until canceled. Billing is handled through Apple's App Store. You can cancel anytime through your Apple ID subscription settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period; no partial refunds are issued for unused time within a billing period unless required by law.
5. Informational nature of content
Mandate provides information, not advice.
- Bill summaries, vote records, and analyses are informational. They are not legal advice, financial advice, political advice, or voting recommendations.
- AI-generated content (bill summaries, AI chat responses) may contain errors. We make best efforts to ensure accuracy through multi-stage review, but you should verify important facts against primary sources before acting on them.
6. Nonpartisan operating principle
Mandate is structurally nonpartisan. We do not accept political donations, do not endorse candidates, parties, or positions, and do not target users based on inferred political affiliation. This principle is operationalized in how the product is built, not just stated in copy.
7. User accounts
You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. Notify us immediately at curtis@mandateapp.org if you suspect unauthorized access.
8. Acceptable use
You agree not to:
- Use Mandate to harass, threaten, or impersonate any person or member of Congress
- Attempt to reverse-engineer, decompile, or extract source code
- Access the service through any automated means (scrapers, bots) except as expressly permitted
- Attempt to disrupt or interfere with the service or other users
- Use Mandate to violate any applicable law
9. Intellectual property
Mandate's name, brand mark (the split M), software, and original content are the property of Jackson's Golden Assets LLC and protected by applicable intellectual property laws. Bill text, vote records, and other government documents surfaced in Mandate are public records and remain so.
10. Third-party content
Mandate surfaces news articles and primary government documents from third parties. We do not control or endorse third-party content. Each article is labeled with independent bias and reliability ratings; the underlying ratings and definitions are AllSides' and Media Bias/Fact Check's.
11. Disclaimers
MANDATE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or accurate in every instance.
12. Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Mandate's total liability for any claim arising from your use of the service will not exceed the amount you paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim, or $100 if you paid us nothing. We are not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages.
13. Termination
We may suspend or terminate your access if you violate these Terms. You may stop using Mandate at any time; you may delete your account through the app or by emailing curtis@mandateapp.org.
14. Governing law and disputes
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Michigan, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any disputes arising from these Terms or your use of Mandate will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Wayne County, Michigan, unless required otherwise by applicable consumer protection law.
15. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms. Material changes will be communicated through the app or by email at least 30 days before they take effect. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page always reflects the current version.
16. Contact
For questions about these Terms, email curtis@mandateapp.org.