As an ACM member I will ....
1.1 Contribute to society and human well-being.
This principle concerning the quality of life of all people affirms
an obligation to protect fundamental human rights and to respect the diversity
of all cultures. An essential aim of computing professionals is to minimize
negative consequences of computing systems, including threats to health
and safety. When designing or implementing systems, computing professionals
must attempt to ensure that the products of their efforts will be used
in socially responsible ways, will meet social needs, and will avoid harmful
effects to health and welfare.
In addition to a safe social environment, human well-being includes
a safe natural environment. Therefore, computing professionals who design
and develop systems must be alert to, and make others aware of, any potential
damage to the local or global environment.
1.2 Avoid harm to others.
"Harm" means injury or negative consequences, such as undesirable
loss of information, loss of property, property damage, or unwanted environmental
impacts. This principle prohibits use of computing technology in ways that
result in harm to any of the following: users, the general public, employees,
employers. Harmful actions include intentional destruction or modification
of files and programs leading to serious loss of resources or unnecessary
expenditure of human resources such as the time and effort required to
purge systems of "computer viruses."
Well-intended actions, including those that accomplish assigned duties,
may lead to harm unexpectedly. In such an event the responsible person
or persons are obligated to undo or mitigate the negative consequences
as much as possible. One way to avoid unintentional harm is to carefully
consider potential impacts on all those affected by decisions made during
design and implementation.
To minimize the possibility of indirectly harming others, computing
professionals must minimize malfunctions by following generally accepted
standards for system design and testing. Furthermore, it is often necessary
to assess the social consequences of systems to project the likelihood
of any serious harm to others. If system features are misrepresented to
users, coworkers, or supervisors, the individual computing professional
is responsible for any resulting injury.
In the work environment the computing professional has the additional
obligation to report any signs of system dangers that might result in serious
personal or social damage. If one's superiors do not act to curtail or
mitigate such dangers, it may be necessary to "blow the whistle"
to help correct the problem or reduce the risk. However, capricious or
misguided reporting of violations can, itself, be harmful. Before reporting
violations, all relevant aspects of the incident must be thoroughly assessed.
In particular, the assessment of risk and responsibility must be credible.
It is suggested that advice be sought from other computing professionals.
See principle
2.5 regarding thorough evaluations.
1.3 Be honest and trustworthy.
Honesty is an essential component of trust. Without trust an organization
cannot function effectively. The honest computing professional will not
make deliberately false or deceptive claims about a system or system design,
but will instead provide full disclosure of all pertinent system limitations
and problems.
A computer professional has a duty to be honest about his or her own
qualifications, and about any circumstances that might lead to conflicts
of interest.
Membership in volunteer organizations such as ACM may at times place
individuals in situations where their statements or actions could be interpreted
as carrying the "weight" of a larger group of professionals.
An ACM member will exercise care to not misrepresent ACM or positions and
policies of ACM or any ACM units.
1.4 Be fair and take action not to discriminate.
The values of equality, tolerance, respect for others, and the principles
of equal justice govern this imperative. Discrimination on the basis of
race, sex, religion, age, disability, national origin, or other such factors
is an explicit violation of ACM policy and will not be tolerated.
Inequities between different groups of people may result from the use
or misuse of information and technology. In a fair society,all individuals
would have equal opportunity to participate in, or benefit from, the use
of computer resources regardless of race, sex, religion, age, disability,
national origin or other such similar factors. However, these ideals do
not justify unauthorized use of computer resources nor do they provide
an adequate basis for violation of any other ethical imperatives of this
code.
1.5 Honor property rights including copyrights and patent.
Violation of copyrights, patents, trade secrets and the terms of license
agreements is prohibited by law in most circumstances. Even when software
is not so protected, such violations are contrary to professional behavior.
Copies of software should be made only with proper authorization. Unauthorized
duplication of materials must not be condoned.
1.6 Give proper credit for intellectual property.
Computing professionals are obligated to protect the integrity of intellectual
property. Specifically, one must not take credit for other's ideas or work,
even in cases where the work has not been explicitly protected by copyright,
patent, etc.
1.7 Respect the privacy of others.
Computing and communication technology enables the collection and exchange
of personal information on a scale unprecedented in the history of civilization.
Thus there is increased potential for violating the privacy of individuals
and groups. It is the responsibility of professionals to maintain the privacy
and integrity of data describing individuals. This includes taking precautions
to ensure the accuracy of data, as well as protecting it from unauthorized
access or accidental disclosure to inappropriate individuals. Furthermore,
procedures must be established to allow individuals to review their records
and correct inaccuracies.
This imperative implies that only the necessary amount of personal
information be collected in a system, that retention and disposal periods
for that information be clearly defined and enforced, and that personal
information gathered for a specific purpose not be used for other purposes
without consent of the individual(s). These principles apply to electronic
communications, including electronic mail, and prohibit procedures that
capture or monitor electronic user data, including messages,without the
permission of users or bona fide authorization related to system operation
and maintenance. User data observed during the normal duties of system
operation and maintenance must be treated with strictest confidentiality,
except in cases where it is evidence for the violation of law,
organizational regulations, or this Code. In these cases, the nature or
contents of that information must be disclosed only to proper authorities.
1.8 Honor confidentiality.
The principle of honesty extends to issues of confidentiality of information
whenever one has made an explicit promise to honor confidentiality or,
implicitly, when private information not directly related to the performance
of one's duties becomes available. The ethical concern is to respect all
obligations of confidentiality to employers, clients, and users unless
discharged from such obligations by requirements of the law or other principles
of this Code.
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