Internet Business Standards Association

IBSA Privacy Policy

The Internet Business Standards Association considers the privacy of the information you provide to be of paramount importance.

The IBSA Privacy Policy also recognizes that the individuals and businesses that contact the IBSA have a wide variety of reasons for doing so and that different procedures are needed for different groups.

As a result, the IBSA has defined three distinct category of communicants in regards to our Privacy Policy:

General inquiries and comments;
Complaints against GOLDEN SEAL program participants;
Businesses applying for, or inquiring about IBSA membership and/or the GOLDEN SEAL and other IBSA programs.

All communications not evidently complaints or concerning IBSA membership or participation in programs will be treated as General inquiries and comments.

A) General inquiries and comments:

The IBSA welcomes any and all general inquiries or comments and wants to assure those interested in contacting us that their personal information will stay private.

No personal information supplied through any part of the general inquiry or comment process (including name and contact information) will ever be sold, given, or shared with a third party for the purpose of the commercial use of this information, including for advertising or marketing purposes.

Sensitive personal information (including name and contact information as well as other personal details) will only ever be shared with a third party if that information is necessary for third party help in composing a reply to a query or comment.

Other personal information will only ever be shared with a third party for the purposes of analysis. (E.g. what percentage of enquiries are by women? By persons residing in Latvia? By accountants earning more than $60 000 per annum? Etc.)

B) Complaints against GOLDEN SEAL program participants (whether filed through the IBSA website Complaints procedure or by any other means of communication):

Responding to your concerns and complaints is a very important part of what the IBSA does. We want to assure you that any information you provide will not be freely distributed and that only those who need to know learn any of the personal details you provide.

Personal information will be shared with those involved in the complaint process on a need-to-know basis.

The IBSA recognizes that any business receiving a complaint has the right to know fully about the person or party making the complaint.

Any third party or IBSA member who receives personal information through the complaint process is forbidden from selling, given, or sharing that information with others, and from using that information for any commercial purpose, including the distribution of advertising/marketing material.

Personal information would only ever be shared by a non-involved third party for the purposes of data analysis. (E.g. what percentage of complaints are registered by women? By persons residing in Latvia? By accountants earning more than $60 000 per annum? Etc.)

By registering a formal complaint, you agree to these information-sharing conditions. The complaint process can potentially involved a number of third parties including experts, arbitrators, and other IBSA members asked to participate in an advisory role.

C) Businesses applying for, or inquiring about IBSA membership and/or participation in IBSA programs.

The IBSA reserves the right for it or third party associates to contact you with information or advertising/marketing material on topics we believe to be of interest to you unless you clearly and specifically forbid this. (i.e. “I/this business does not want to be contacted with unrequested advertising, or marketing material from the IBSA or associate organizations.

The IBSA will not freely distribute your personal information; if the information is sold, given, or shared with other parties, you will be informed as to when and why that information was sold, given, or shared.