Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Open Arbitration (openarbitration.org) is operated by Make Sure It Happens Inc. (“MSIH”, “we”, “us”, or “our”), a non-profit organization. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect information when you visit our website.

Questions about this policy may be directed to ithappens@msih.org.

2. Information We Collect

Information you provide directly

We may collect information you voluntarily provide when you:

• Submit information to our clause database or public arbitration registry
• Fill out a contact or co-sponsorship inquiry form
• Sign up for email updates or newsletters
• Create an account (if applicable)

This may include your name, email address, organization affiliation, and the content of your submission.

Information collected automatically

When you visit our site, we may automatically collect certain technical information, including:

• Your IP address and approximate geographic location
• Browser type and version
• Pages visited and time spent on each page
• Referring URL
• Device type and operating system

This information is collected through server logs and analytics tools and is used in aggregate form to understand how people use our site and to improve it.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use collected information to:

• Operate, maintain, and improve the website and its databases
• Respond to inquiries and communications
• Send newsletters or updates you have requested
• Publish or display information you have submitted to public databases
• Analyze site usage to improve user experience
• Comply with legal obligations

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for their marketing purposes.

4. Public Database Submissions

Information submitted to our public arbitration clause database or outcome registry may be published publicly as part of our transparency mission. Before submitting, please review what information will be made public. Do not submit information that you are not authorized to disclose or that you wish to keep private.

5. Cookies and Tracking

We use cookies and similar technologies to operate the site and understand how it is used. For details, see our Cookie Policy.

6. Third-Party Services

We may use third-party services for analytics, email delivery, or other site functions. These services may collect information about your use of our site in accordance with their own privacy policies. We use these services only with providers who offer appropriate data-protection commitments.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal information only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this policy or as required by law. When information is no longer needed, we delete or anonymize it.

8. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. However, no internet transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee the security of information transmitted to or from our site.

Zero Trust case content encryption

When you create an Open Arbitration account and submit case content (free-text descriptions, messages, notes, evidence narratives, document labels, and uploaded files), the following applies:

• Open Arbitration and MSIH staff cannot read your case content — by design. Content is encrypted in your browser before it ever reaches our servers.
• Your recovery code is generated once during registration. We never store it. You must download it at registration — the Continue button is disabled until you do.
• Normal sign-in uses your password only. Your password derives a key that unwraps your master key in your browser; our server never sees the master key or your password in plaintext.
• If you forget your password, your recovery code restores access to your encrypted content.
• If you lose both your password and your recovery code, your encrypted content becomes permanently unrecoverable. No one at Open Arbitration or MSIH can restore it. This is the correct outcome of an end-to-end encryption design.
• Metadata (company name, case stage, outcome type, dates, document type, file size, MIME type) is not encrypted and is used for aggregate regulatory reporting and service operation.
• A full archive of your case (encrypted content + metadata) is downloadable at Stage 6.

9. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have rights regarding your personal information, including the right to access, correct, or delete information we hold about you. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at ithappens@msih.org.

10. Children’s Privacy

This site is not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such information, please contact us and we will promptly delete it.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at ithappens@msih.org or visit www.msih.org.