Terms of Service

These terms explain how you can use ETTG and what we expect from each other. We've kept it simple and straightforward.

What ETTG Is

ETTG is a free local civic information service covering all 50 US states, 3,000+ counties, and 125,000+ cities. We aggregate news from local news sources and maintain a community-contributed directory of local spots, government offices, community groups, and resources to help you stay informed and connected to what's happening in your community.

How You Can Use ETTG

You're free to:

• Browse news for any state, county, or city
• Discover local news sources in your area
• Share ETTG with others
• Use our service for personal, educational, or professional research purposes
• Click through to read full articles on the original news source websites
• Submit directory listings (news sources, local spots, community groups, government offices, and community resources) through our public submission forms

Please don't:

• Try to hack, overwhelm, or damage our service
• Use automated tools to scrape our data excessively
• Misrepresent yourself or attempt to access restricted systems
• Present our work as your own or scrape it for redistribution without permission

Community Submissions

ETTG accepts community-submitted listings for local spots, news sources, community groups, government offices, and community resources. This section explains the rules that apply when you use any submission form on our site.

Review Before Publishing

All community submissions are reviewed by our team before they are published. Submitting something does not guarantee it will appear on the site. We may approve, reject, modify, or remove any submission at our sole discretion, without explanation. We are not obligated to notify you of the outcome, although we may use the email address you provide to ask clarifying questions or inform you of significant issues with your submission.

Accuracy and Good Faith

By submitting content, you represent that:

• The information you provide is accurate and complete to the best of your knowledge
• You are submitting a genuine place or organization that exists and serves the community
• You are not submitting spam, fictitious entities, or content intended to mislead
• You have a good-faith belief that the listing belongs on an index of local civic resources

We reserve the right to remove any listing that we determine is inaccurate, outdated, misleading, or otherwise inappropriate, at any time and without notice.

License Grant for Submitted Information

Information submitted about a place or organization (its name, description, website, phone number, address, and similar details) is generally public factual information about a third-party entity. By submitting it, you grant ETTG a non-exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free license to store, display, and distribute that information as part of our public directory. This does not affect your rights to any content you independently own.

Your submitter email address is not published and is not subject to this license. It is held in confidence per our Privacy Policy.

Submitter Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years of age to use any submission form. By submitting, you confirm that you meet this requirement.

Prohibited Submissions

You may not use submission forms to:

• Submit the same entity multiple times (duplicate spam)
• Submit fictitious, parody, or deliberately misleading entities
• Submit content that promotes illegal activity
• Attempt to manipulate or game our review process
• Submit personal residences or purely private facilities not open to the public

Abuse of submission forms may result in your IP address being blocked from using submission features.

Your Contact Email

The email address you provide with a submission may be used to contact you about that specific submission only. We will not send marketing emails, add you to any mailing list, or use your address for any purpose unrelated to your submission. See our Privacy Policy for complete details on how submission data is handled and retained.

What We're Not Responsible For

News Content: We aggregate and display headlines, summaries, and links from independent news organizations. The full articles and original content belong to those news sources. We are not responsible for their accuracy, completeness, viewpoints, or editorial content. Users should independently verify information and evaluate source credibility.

External Websites: When you click on links to read full articles, you're leaving ETTG and visiting independent websites. We don't control these sites or their privacy practices.

Service Availability: While we work hard to keep ETTG running smoothly, we can't guarantee it will always be available or error-free. We provide the service "as is" without warranties.

Advertising

ETTG displays contextual advertisements to help fund the service. Our advertising system:

• Is operated entirely in-house - no third-party ad networks
• Shows ads based on the page content (location, topic), not based on tracking you
• Does not use tracking cookies or build user profiles
• Requires all ads to be manually approved before display

If you're interested in advertising with ETTG, please visit our advertiser application page. Advertisers are subject to additional terms outlined during the registration and ad submission process.

Advertiser Responsibilities

If you advertise with ETTG:

• You are solely responsible for the content, accuracy, and legality of your advertisements
• Your ads must comply with all applicable laws and regulations
• We reserve the right to reject, remove, or suspend any advertisement at our sole discretion, with or without explanation
• We may terminate advertiser accounts that violate our policies or these terms
• Prepaid advertising fees are non-refundable if your account is terminated for policy violations

Copyright & DMCA

ETTG operates as a news aggregation service under fair use principles. We display headlines, brief summaries, and links that direct users to the original source for full content. All original news content remains the property of the respective publishers.

If You Believe Your Copyright Is Being Infringed

We respect intellectual property rights and respond to valid DMCA takedown notices. If you are a copyright owner (or authorized to act on their behalf) and believe content on ETTG infringes your copyright, please send a written notice to our designated agent including:

• Identification of the copyrighted work you claim is being infringed
• Identification of the material on ETTG that you claim is infringing, with enough detail to locate it
• Your contact information (name, address, phone, email)
• A statement that you have a good faith belief the use is not authorized by the copyright owner
• A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner
• Your physical or electronic signature

Send DMCA notices to: Contact Us with "DMCA Notice" in the subject line, or mail to the address provided on our contact page.

We will respond to valid notices by removing or disabling access to the allegedly infringing material. Repeat infringers may be banned from our service.

Intellectual Property

The ETTG service, including its design, code, curated database of news sources, location data, and original content, is owned by ETTG and protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. You may not copy, reproduce, or redistribute our service or substantial portions of our data without written permission.

Information Accuracy

We strive to provide accurate information about news sources and directory listings, but details like contact information, websites, or coverage areas may change. Some listings originate from automated pipeline sources; others are submitted by community members and reviewed before publishing. We are not liable for outdated or missing information, but if you notice something that needs updating, please let us know and we'll fix it if we are able to.

Our Relationship with News Sources

ETTG is an independent service. We aggregate publicly available news from local news organizations to help citizens stay informed. Including a news source in our service does not constitute endorsement of their content, viewpoints, or editorial positions.

Editorial Neutrality & Source Inclusion

ETTG maintains editorial neutrality and aggregates news sources across the political spectrum. Our inclusion criteria for automated sources focus on whether an organization:

• Operates as a legitimate news organization
• Publishes regular content, typically for a defined geographic area
• Maintains an active website or publication

We do not make editorial judgments about the political viewpoints, accuracy, or quality of news sources we list. Users are responsible for evaluating source credibility and making their own informed choices about which sources to follow. Community-submitted directory listings are reviewed for basic accuracy and legitimacy before publishing, but we do not independently verify every detail of every listing.

Changes to These Terms

We may update these terms occasionally to reflect changes in our service or legal requirements. When we do, we'll update the "Last Updated" date below. Continued use of ETTG means you accept any changes.

Legal Stuff

ETTG is provided "as-is," and we are not liable for any damages arising from your use of the service. These terms are governed by Montana state law, and any legal disputes would be handled in Montana courts. We hope it never comes to that - we'd much rather resolve any issues through friendly conversation.

Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless ETTG and its operators from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses (including reasonable attorney fees) arising from your use of the service, your violation of these terms, or your violation of any third-party rights.

Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, ETTG shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits or revenues, whether incurred directly or indirectly, or any loss of data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses resulting from your use of the service.

Severability

If any provision of these terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

Questions, Concerns, or Feedback?

We welcome questions about our ethics, transparency practices, or any concerns about our platform.

Contact Us