Arbiter Statement of Privacy

Established December 2019

It is the intention of the arbiters to maintain strict confidentiality with every issue, complaint, and concern we are involved with. If a person (or persons) brings an issue to the arbiters, the person and their issue shall remain in confidence with the arbiters, unless the person agrees that it can be made public. 

The arbiters will not share conversations about the issue with anyone outside of the arbiters, not even the Central Committee. The arbiters will not give names or details about an issue at meetings or other public events, unless the people involved with the issue have given their consent that that is allowed (including the person who has brought the issue/complaint, the person(s) indicated in the complaint, and any arbiter directly involved with the issue/complaint.) 

There could be exceptions when, for safety reasons, the arbiters will choose to share names and information about an issue/complaint with others outside the arbiter group. Some exceptions include: 

1. There is an immediate danger or threat to a person that must be addressed.

2. There is a threat of violence.

It should be noted that every issue is still considered and addressed on a case-by-case basis. There may be situations in which, at the discretion of an arbiter or the arbiters as a group, an action that is different from this policy is taken. However, all arbiters seek to maintain and uphold this privacy policy as much as possible, in order to respect the privacy of anyone who discusses an issue with the arbiters in confidence. 

DATA CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT

In our roles as arbiters, we may be provided with access to personal, proprietary, and/or otherwise confidential data. This can include information about Philly Socialists members, prospective members, and other community members.

We will maintain in strictest confidence the data to which we have access. We will not share any personal or otherwise confidential data with others who are not authorized to access such data, including the Central Committee, apart from the specific exceptions referenced in paragraph 3 of the privacy statement. We will not share any password to any information to which we have access, except among the arbiters. We will not transmit highly sensitive data by unsecure means. For example, most email services are not secure and therefore are not appropriate for transmitting such sensitive data. Faxing also raises security concerns because of the potential for unauthorized persons at the receiving fax machine. In addition, when sharing other highly sensitive information, we will make every effort to share this information only on a strict need to know basis and exercising reasonable care in how it is shared.   

When disposing of confidential data, we will ensure that such data is shredded or otherwise disposed of in a secure and complete fashion. 

We will use our access to confidential data only to advance Philly Socialists’ mission and as sanctioned by Philly Socialists in our roles as arbiters. We will not use confidential data or information for personal purposes.

Anonymously report violations to the arbiters here.