NotFormer
Is that kind of record keeping legal under the various data protection acts?
Good question. JW's will hide behind clergy privilege but there has been a move in the last few years in particular to address privacy concerns in situations like this.
Some examples are the GDPR in Europe, US Data Privacy Protection laws and the Privacy Act in Australia. These try to address privacy concerns around the collection, maintenance and sharing of data.
I would guess that the organisation will have to be extremely careful because their records contain what is considered 'sensitive information' about their members like health details, sexual orientation, mental health, criminal history etc. In short, its a powder keg of info that may blow up on them one day if that data is stolen or leaked to the public.
Organisations are learning quickly that any unnecessary personal information being kept on record can bite them badly if they have a data breach. Im under the impression that most of the sensitive data from elders committees is written down and not stored digitally, which reduces the chances of a major breach. But still, is there a need to keep so much information, can they really justify it?
Jw's routinely flaunt religious discrimination laws by shunning members and ex -members based on ther beliefs, so its no surprise if they are flaunting the various privacy laws around the world.