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An alternative framing for the harms section #126

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An alternative framing for the harms section #126

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5914591
Remove trailing whitespace
martinthomson Jun 13, 2024
09ca88a
An alternative for the harms section
martinthomson Jun 13, 2024
9bb98eb
Consistency in titling is critical
martinthomson Jul 18, 2024
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extra effort to protect the vulnerable or disadvantaged
martinthomson Sep 11, 2024
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51 changes: 26 additions & 25 deletions index.html
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Expand Up @@ -131,7 +131,7 @@
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 [[[Design-Principles]]], [[[security-privacy-questionnaire]]],
Expand All @@ -156,23 +156,24 @@ <h3 id="oneweb" data-export="" data-dfn-type="dfn">

<section>
<h3 id="noharm" data-export="" data-dfn-type="dfn">
The web does not cause harm to society
The web does not harm people
</h3>
<p>
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.
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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
<a data-cite="design-principles#priority-of-constituencies">priority of constituencies</a>.
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.
</p>
<p>Changes at web scale affect many people.
The effect of change is uneven,
affecting some people positively and causing harm to others.

<p>Changes that respect a diversity of interests and views
strengthen the web.
In adding technology or features to the web,
we commit to first understanding how all parties might be affected,
especially those who are most vulnerable or disadvantaged.
Where changes have harmful consequences,
we will either prevent or mitigate those harms to the extent possible.

<p>We prefer changes that avoid harms.
However, failing to evolve the web carries its own risk of causing harm.
In considering any change, we will prioritize the equities of various entities
according to the <a data-cite="design-principles#priority-of-constituencies">priority of constituencies</a>.
</section>

<section>
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -258,12 +259,12 @@ <h3 id="verify" data-export="" data-dfn-type="dfn">
</h3>
<p>
Society relies on the integrity of public information.
We have a responsibility to build web technologies to counter misinformation
We have a responsibility to build web technologies to counter misinformation
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I wish whitespace changes weren't mixed in with substantive changes.

and to maintain the integrity of information for public good.
The public needs verifiable source and context information to recognize
trustworthy web publishers and content.
The concept of origin and
<a href="https://www.w3.org/2001/tag/doc/distributed-content/">its relationship with information sources</a>
The concept of origin and
<a href="https://www.w3.org/2001/tag/doc/distributed-content/">its relationship with information sources</a>
are core to the web's security model.
</p>
</section>
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -295,7 +296,7 @@ <h3 id="sustainable" data-export="" data-dfn-type="dfn">
<p>
Web technologies may have overall positive environmental impacts
as well as negative impacts,
and these can change over time and vary geographically as
and these can change over time and vary geographically as
both web and environmental technologies develop.
We will endeavor not to do further harm to the environment
when we introduce new technologies to the web and keep in mind
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -358,11 +359,11 @@ <h3 id="render" data-export="" data-dfn-type="dfn">
<section class="appendix">
<h2>Acknowlegements</h2>
<p>
The TAG would like to thank the following people for their help, input, and feedback
during the conceptualization and ongoing development of this document:
The TAG would like to thank the following people for their help, input, and feedback
during the conceptualization and ongoing development of this document:
Tantek Çelik (Mozilla),
Oluwatomisin Niyi-Awosusi,
Joanna J. Bryson (Professor of Ethics and Technology, Centre for Digital Governance, Hertie School),
Oluwatomisin Niyi-Awosusi,
Joanna J. Bryson (Professor of Ethics and Technology, Centre for Digital Governance, Hertie School),
Wendy Seltzer.
</p>
</section>