UPDATE 15.02.2018: Please note, the submission deadline has been extended to Sunday 11 March

We call for papers for this workshop. Our aim is to promote dialogue between disciplines, and particularly the application of moral philosophical, critical and legal principles in the context of social relations on the World Wide Web, in order to support the construction of an ethical framework for Web Science. The intended audience includes those with an interest in ethical issues pertaining to the Web, including practitioners in areas such as healthcare, law, communications/media and social science whose work poses ethical challenges from which Web Scientists can learn.

Papers will be favoured which use a multidisciplinary framework. We are particularly interested in detailed case studies, philosophical frameworks, legal analyses, policy studies, comparative analyses, and technological proposals or solutions to ethical problems. We will favour papers describing original research, but will also consider novel position papers, white papers, and works-in-progress. We will want to see evidence that the approaches reported (a) address a specific and genuine problem in this area, and (b) have implications for the future of the World Wide Web.

Relevant conceptual topics include (but are not limited to):

  • How feasible is it to construct ethical principles in this space, or will they always be derivative from principles which apply to individuals?
  • Are there simple ideas that can carry over from existing ethical frameworks, such as intergenerational justice or rights pertaining to minorities?
  • Do the three types of group outlined here face similar, or different challenges?
  • Are these groups at the right level of abstraction for discussing Web-based ethical issues?
  • What methodological problems are posed for those researching into such groups (and how may they be resolved)?
  • How should access to data be regulated?
  • What role is there for Web Observatories?
  • How do algorithmic biases affect group composition or intra-group relations?
  • What is the role of social amplification in generating bias?
  • How does group membership, voluntary or involuntary, impact on identity and agency?
  • Who is accountable for harms resulting from an algorithm’s application to a group?
  • Can we create protections analogous to data protection without personal data or PII?
  • Who is to represent a particular group if it is to be defended against a possible harm?

Papers may be up to 6 pages, written in double-column ACM format. Templates are available from the ACM website, (selecting the SIGCONF proceedings template) but are not required for the initial submission and similar formats will be accepted.

Please submit a paper via the EasyChair system (https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=epsm18).

Key dates:

  • Sunday, February 25 REVISED: Sunday, March 11, 2018: Paper submission
  • Friday, March 30, 2018REVISED: Friday, April 6, 2018: Notification of acceptance
  • Friday, April 20, 2018: Camera-ready versions
  • Sunday, May 27, 2018: The workshop will take place as part of the 2018 ACM Web Science conference in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

All deadlines set at midnight Hawaii Standard Time.

The papers will be included in an Events Proceedings, which will be made available online after the conference.