Status of This Document
This section describes the status of this
document at the time of its publication. A list of current W3C
publications and the latest revision of this technical report can be found
in the W3C technical reports index at
https://www.w3.org/TR/.
This document is a draft Technical Architecture Group (TAG) Finding.
It does not contain any normative content.
This document reflects the consensus of the TAG at the time of publication.
It will continue to evolve and the TAG will issue updates as often as needed.
The document has received wide review.
This document was published by the Technical Architecture Group as
a Group Note using the
Note track.
This Group Note is endorsed by
the Technical Architecture Group, but is not endorsed by
W3C itself nor its
Members.
This is a draft document and may be updated, replaced or obsoleted by other
documents at any time. It is inappropriate to cite this document as other
than work in progress.
The W3C Patent Policy does not carry any licensing requirements or commitments on this document.
This document is governed by the
03 November 2023 W3C Process Document.
The web should empower an equitable, informed, and interconnected society.
It has been, and should continue to be, designed
to enable communication and knowledge-sharing for everyone.
In order for the web to continue to be beneficial to society,
we need to consider the ethical implications of our work
when we build web technologies, applications, and sites.
The web is made up of a number of technologies and technical standards.
HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are often thought of as the web's core set of technologies
but there are many other technologies, standards,
languages and APIs that come together to form the "web platform."
We strive to maintain a strong ethical framework as a differentiator for the web platform,
for example an emphasis on
internationalization,
accessibility,
privacy, and
security.
Web technologies are also released for use under a
royalty-free license
to enable open source implementation.
We build new web technologies in a collaborative manner
according to open processes
(for example, the W3C process),
and in inclusive environments adhering to codes of conduct
(such as the W3C Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct).
These are often cited as some of the strengths of the web.
Despite this, in the 30 years since the development of the web began,
it has become clear that the web platform can often be used in ways that subvert its original mission
or even be used to cause harm.
The architecture of the web is designed with
the notion of different classes of application that retrieve and process content,
and represent the needs of the application's users.
This includes web browsers,
web-hosted applications such as search engines,
and software that acts on web resources.
This lends itself well towards empowering people
by allowing them to choose the browser, search engine, or other application
that best meets their needs
(for example, with strong privacy protections).
The web should also support human rights, dignity, and personal agency.
We need to put internationally recognized human rights at the core of the web platform [UDHR].
We can reinforce this approach by promoting ethical thinking across the web industry.
The principles in this document are deliberately unordered,
and many are interconnected with each other.
They are intended to be read together, rather than each in isolation, and to collectively support
a web that is beneficial for society.
When the effects of upholding one principle
may diminish the efficacy of another principle, the benefits and tradeoffs
need to be carefully balanced.
It is important to consider the context in which the technology
is being applied, the expected audience(s) for the technology,
who the technology benefits and who it may disadvantage,
and any power dynamics involved (see also the
priority of constituencies).
This is a statement of the ethical principles of the W3C community.
Spec developers, authors, and reviewers can use it to guide their thinking.
In particular, the purpose of this document is to
inform wide review of new charters,
new specifications, and
candidate additions to published recommendations.
Others can read this document to understand how we are informing
our design process with ethical considerations.
For actionable guidance applicable to spec editors, site authors,
and others designing and building parts of the web platform,
see the Web Platform Design Principles, Self-Review Questionnaire: Security and Privacy,
the Privacy Principles, and TAG Findings.
When we are adding new web technologies and platforms,
we will build them to cross regional and national boundaries.
People in one location should be able to view web pages
from anywhere that is connected to the web.
When we are adding a feature or technology to the web,
we will work to prevent or mitigate any harm it might cause society or groups,
especially to vulnerable people.
We consider a range of threat models that account for abuse scenarios
at different scales, from societal to interpersonal.
We will prioritize potential benefits for web users over potential benefits to web developers,
content providers, user agents, advertisers, or others in the ecosystem,
in line with the
priority of constituencies.
We commit to learning about and understanding diverse perspectives,
and will strive to reflect a respect for that diversity in the designs we produce,
so that our designs properly respect the interests and views of
all of the people who might be affected by them.
We are building technologies and platforms for distributing ideas,
for virtual interaction,
and for mass collaboration on any topic.
While those tools can be used for good,
they can also be used for spreading misinformation,
revealing private personal information (doxing),
harassment, and persecution.
We will consider these risks in the work we do,
and will build web technologies and platforms
that respect individuals' rights
and provide features to empower them against dangers like these.
People should not need a high level of technical literacy to use the web.
Web platform technologies should behave consistently and intuitively.
We will build internationalization and localization capabilities
into our specifications and websites, including support for different languages.
Our specifications and websites are well internationalized,
provide support for language and cultural adaptation, and support localization,
so that our work is accessible to all users, regardless of language, writing system,
or culture.
We will accommodate people on low bandwidth networks and with low specification equipment.
The web platform and the tools we use to create it
must be accessible to people with disabilities,
including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning, and neurological disabilities.
Anyone should be able to meaningfully participate
in the creation of specifications, user agents, and content,
and the platform should enable a fully accessible end-user experience.
When we add features to the web platform,
we are making decisions that impact peoples'
ability to control their personal data.
This data includes their conversations,
their financial transactions
and how they live their lives.
We will start by creating web technologies
that create as few potential threats to web users as possible,
and mitigate the threats that we cannot avoid.
We will make sure people understand
what risks they are taking when they use the web.
We will create web technologies and platforms
that encourage free expression,
where that does not contravene other human rights.
Our work should not enable state censorship, surveillance
or other practices that seek to limit this freedom.
This principle must be balanced with respect for other human rights
and does not imply that individual services on the web must therefore support all speech.
(For example: hate speech, harassment or abuse may reasonably be denied a platform).
We recognize that web technologies can be used
to manipulate and deceive people, complicate isolation, and encourage addictive behaviors.
We seek to mitigate against these potential abuses
and patterns
when creating new technologies and platforms,
and avoid introducing technologies that increase the chance of
people being harmed in this way.
We aim to reduce centralization in web architecture,
minimizing single points of failure and single points of control.
We will also build web technologies for individual developers
as well as for developers at large companies and organizations.
The web should enable do-it-yourself developers.
The web was built on a "view source" principle,
currently realized through robust developer tools built into many browsers.
We will always make sure it is possible
to determine how a web application was built
and how the code works.
Furthermore, we will always make sure it is possible
to audit and inspect web applications and underlying software
for security, privacy, or other considerations.
We will not create web technologies that encourage the creation of websites
that work only in one browser,
or only on particular hardware.
We expect that content provided by accessing a URL
should yield a thematically consistent experience
when someone is accessing it from different devices.
The existence of multiple interoperable implementations
enables competition, and thus a variety of choices
for web users.
People must be able to change web pages according to their needs.
For example, people should be able to install style sheets,
assistive browser extensions,
and blockers of unwanted content or scripts.
We will build features and write specifications
that respect peoples' agency,
and will create user agents to represent those preferences on the web user's behalf.