Subject: Experiment ethics and privacy reviews

From: IETF Chair <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 2015 17:32:00 +0300

Prior to IETF-93 we had some discussion of specific experiments and whether
those experiments, while technically interesting, were allowable in the location
that we were at. At the time there was too little time to determine a proper answer
for that. Since then the IESG and IAOC have discussed what to do about this
topic in general.

The legal frameworks in various countries can in some cases be suboptimal,
but it is the environment that we must operate in. We are planning to set up
a small team to look at experiment proposals and to determine if they have
issues that are likely to require closer evaluation. The charter for the team
is at the end of this message.

Would this team be useful from your perspective? Comments appreciated.

Jari Arkko for the IESG

——

IETF Experiment Ethics Review Board

The purpose of the IETF Experiment Ethics Review Board (EERB) is to 
consider whether or not proposed experiments or studies using the IETF 
meeting network are acceptable. The EERB advises the IETF chair in 
the approval of proposed meeting experiments.

Composition of the EERB

The EERB will consist of members selected by the IETF chair. The 
members will include at least one member of the NOC team and at 
least one member of the IESG, IAOC, or IAB. The EERB members as 
a whole should include members familiar with research ethical review 
panels from different geographical regions, as legislation, custom and 
practice differ significantly in different places. The IETF chair may appoint 
additional members as desired. Members must recuse themselves from 
the EERB if involved in, or closely connected to, a study being considered.

When is approval from the EERB needed?

Ethical approval is required before any studies involving human participants
and the IETF meeting network can commence. It is important that 
researchers contemplating experiments take into account the provisions 
of legislation relevant for the location of the experiment.

The purpose of the EERB is to determine if there are potential ethics or
privacy issues. If after careful evaluation the board finds that there are 
no issues that would cause concern, then the EERB will indicate that they 
have no objection to the experiment from their perspective. If there are 
some potential issues, the role of the EERB (at least in its initial form) is 
only to ensure that an approval obtained from another research ethics 
body (e.g. an university IRB) exists – evidence of same can be submitted 
prior to the commencement of the study (see procedures below). The 
EERB can review this external approval and base its decision solely thereon.

In the absence of an external approval, the EERB will not be able to provide 
an approval by itself, but given its composition, it may potentially provide 
useful advice to the applicant and the research institutions involved, which 
may in turn lead the approval later on.

In some special cases, the EERB may also in addition determine that IETF 
legal counsel or other legal help may be required confirm that there is no 
significant risk to the IETF. The IAOC is prepared support the EERB in 
these situations. The board is not intended to give legal advice to 
researchers proposing an experiment, however. The responsibility for 
legal compliance rests on the researchers.

Procedure

To contact the EERB send email to [email-masked].  When informed of a 
planned study, the EERB must provide an initial response within one 
week. The goal of the initial response is to assist the researchers in 
submitting an application, if one is needed. Once an application has been 
submitted, the EERB will consider each application and normally provide 
a response within two weeks but not more than one month later. It therefore 
makes sense to start early, in particular if targetting a specific IETF meeting.

The IETF chair will check with the EERB on all proposed experiments for an 
upcoming IETF meeting, and an EERB recommendation is a prerequisite 
for the approval of an experiment during an IETF or in the IETF network.

EERB Application Form

The EERB is responsible for deciding what information is required to be 
submitted in an application. The latest version of the application form and 
instructions will be maintained at 
http://www.ietf.org/experiment-ethics-review-board.