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Website Policies

This page explains website policies, procedures, and required links for the Section508.gov website.

Accessibility Policy
Linking Policy
Reuse and Copyright
Required Links
Social Media Sites

Accessibility Policy

General Services Administration (GSA) is committed to providing access to all individuals—with or without disabilities—seeking information on this website. We’ve built this website to conform to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (as amended), which requires that all individuals with disabilities (whether federal employees or members of the general public) have access to, and use of, information and data comparable to that provided to individuals without disabilities.

If you have trouble accessing content, give us feedback

If you have difficulty accessing information on this site, particularly if using assistive technology, including screen readers, eye tracking devices, or voice recognition software, please contact us. You can do this by emailing us with the following information:

  • URL (web address) of the material you tried to access
  • the problem you experienced
  • your contact information

We’ll get back to you as soon as we can, and attempt to provide the information you’re seeking.

3rd-party plug-ins

Some content on this website may require use of a 3rd-party plug-in to view. Visit GSA.gov to find links to these plug-ins/accessibility aids. Please note these are non-government sites and GSA does not endorse these products. They’re listed only for your convenience. Please direct questions about each tool to the respective vendor.

Linking Policy

This website may include hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public or private organizations. GSA provides these links solely for your information and convenience. If you select a link to an outside website, you’re leaving the Section508.gov website and are subject to the privacy and security policies of the external website.

Evaluation criteria

We evaluate all links to external websites using the following criteria:

  • Is the website’s content relevant, useful and authoritative?
  • Does the website’s information appear to be accurate and current?
  • Does the website complement existing information, products and services?
  • Is the website accessible and applicable to a complementary audience?
  • Is the website’s approach to the privacy of personal information consistent with the government’s privacy and security policies?
  • Is the primary intent of the website to educate and inform, rather than persuade, convert, or sell? The site may include advertising but must be free from heavy marketing or promotion of products.
  • Is the website an official government-owned or supported website? If not, does the website provide government information and/or services in a way that is not available on an official government website?
  • Does the website provide information free of charge?
  • Is the website content consistent with sound public policy? Does it support the mission of GSA and its programs?

This website links to publicly available websites that are government-owned or government sponsored, including domains ending in .gov, .mil and .us. We may also link to quasi-government agencies and websites created by public/private partnerships; state and local government sites (e.g., www.maryland.gov); and government-sponsored websites that end in .com, .org, or .net (e.g., www.usps.com for the U.S. Postal Service).

Because the websites of other federal government agencies must follow the same policies as GSA, links to these sites (including sites managed by the U.S. military) are made without notification or disclaimer.

This website may link to non-government websites, if they provide relevant information that’s not available on an official government website. We provide these links as a public service only; the U.S. government, including GSA (as the sponsoring federal agency of Section508.gov), neither endorses nor guarantees in any way the external organizations, services, advice, or products included in these website links. Furthermore, the U.S. government neither controls nor guarantees the accuracy, relevance, timeliness or completeness of the information contained in non-government website links.

Disclaimer of endorsement

The Section508.gov website includes hypertext links, or pointers, to information created and maintained by other public and/or private organizations. We provide these links and pointers only for your information and convenience. When you select a link to an outside website, you are leaving the Section508.gov site and are subject to the privacy and security policies of the owners/sponsors of the outside website.

  • GSA and Section508.gov do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of information contained on a linked website.
  • We do not endorse the organizations sponsoring linked websites and we do not endorse the views they express or the products/services they offer.
  • The content of external, non-Federal websites is not subject to Federal information quality, privacy, security, and related guidelines.
  • We cannot authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked websites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked website.
  • We are not responsible for transmissions users receive from linked websites.
  • We do not guarantee that outside websites comply with Section 508 (accessibility requirements) of the Rehabilitation Act.

Prohibitions

GSA will not link to any website that exhibits hate, bias, or discrimination. Furthermore, we reserve the right to deny or remove any link that contains misleading information or unsubstantiated claims, or is determined to be in conflict with GSA’s mission or policies.

Most material on our site is free of copyright and may be copied and distributed without permission. Works produced by federal government employees in the course of their employment are generally not protected by copyright and are in the public domain in the U.S. Citation of the GSA site and a link back is much appreciated.

We sometimes use photos or graphics that we licensed or that are restricted. Check to see if there is a copyright or photo credit. You should determine for yourself whether or not an item is protected by copyright or in the public domain, and then satisfy any copyright or use restrictions when publishing or distributing materials from our website. You need to request permission from the original source to use those materials. Transmission or reproduction of protected items beyond what is allowed by fair use or other exemptions requires written permission from the copyright holder.

Learn about copyrighted government works.

If you have any questions about reuse and copyright, please contact us.

Federal agencies are required to provide the following links/information on our websites.

Social Media Sites

Where we manage a presence on social media sites to share government information and engage with our audience, we do not collect any personally identifiable information through those sites. We do not use personal information made available by the third-party sites. If you submit a question or comment to us via a social media tool or platform, we may reply directly to you via that platform, but we don’t track or record any information about individuals who use or interact with us via those platforms.

Reviewed/Updated: July 2023

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