Beyond IRBs: Designing Ethical Review Processes for Big Data

Fpf Education And Innovation Foundation, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) have become understood and widely used in technical fields, especially those relating to information security and privacy, as necessary to protect human subjects in computer studies. However, IRBs do not address all issues. This workshop explores the notion of a broader ethical review procedure in white papers, opinion pieces, and public comments. This multidisciplinary workshop develops how organizations can develop ethical review boards for data uses outside the Common Rule. The workshop considers how ethical guidelines, based on the foundational Belmont principles for human subject research, can help entities make careful decisions to balance data experimentation against risks to individual privacy and civil liberties broadly. It surveys lessons drawn from the medical research ethics community and existing institutional review boards (IRBs). The purpose of this workshop is to bring together experts in academia and industry, as well as ethicists, privacy officials, and government regulators, to develop a blueprint for ethical reviews for computer science research, and provide guidance to those who might seek an ethical opinion to engage in important research, and find a balance to promote research.