‘Ōlelo is dedicated to protecting client privacy and to preserving its independence as a private, non-profit organization.
As a non-profit access organization, ‘Ōlelo has long been committed to accountability and to transparency in its business practices. Although we are not a State agency and not subject to the State’s Uniform Information Practices Act (UIPA), our practices are considered more open and inclusive than the majority of non-profit organizations in Hawai`i.
‘Ōlelo seeks to balance the need to fulfill reasonable requests with its ability to conduct business. That means devoting most of our resources to our core mission of providing community access programming and services.
Several years ago, ‘Ōlelo received requests for its master client list in both written and electronic format by individuals citing the UIPA. The information sought included the names, home addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of all clients. Such a list could be used to facilitate spamming, unwanted mail, or phone solicitations.
This request caused ‘Ōlelo to carefully consider the consequences, liabilities and risks of publicly disclosing such information. Specifically, ‘Ōlelo did not and does not want to violate its clients’ privacy.
After careful consideration, ‘Ōlelo's Board of Directors decided to seek legal confirmation that ‘Ōlelo, an independent, private non-profit organization, is not a State agency and therefore is not subject to the UIPA.
In a ruling on June 9, 2005, Judge Victoria Marks confirmed that ‘Ōlelo is not a State agency and is not subject to the UIPA. That ruling was appealed to the Hawaii State Supreme Court and upheld on December 21, 2007. Although ‘Ōlelo is clearly not a State agency, we will continue to allow access to much of our corporate information, such as our contracts with and reports to the DCCA, annual audited financial statements, operating procedures and policies, minutes of Board meetings, and similar documents.
Our goal is to focus on our mission of building community by providing excellent public, educational and governmental access services. As we do this, we will continue to preserve our clients’ privacy.