Examples of Violations of the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and Resulting Sanctions

To help the community better understand and potentially codify the types of behaviors that violate the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, this section first presents the general structures of (a) behaviors that violate the Code and (b) sanctions that are imposed on those who engaged in these behaviors. It then uses these structures to present in a uniformly organized way the data that corresponds exactly to the same actual instances of violations and associated sanctions presented in the previous section. 

A. General Structure

A Code of Ethics violation can typically be described with sentences that follow something like the structure below, with some parts being optional: 

WHO did WHAT ACTION to WHOM at WHERE during WHEN

Table C3 below explains the semantics of each part:

Table C3. Semantics of the Key Elements of Code of Ethics Violations.

Code of Ethics Violation
Information of interest	Explanation
WHO	respondent
WHAT ACTION	action violating the Code
ACTION SPECIFICS	features of action in violation
WHOM	victim(s) / complainant(s)
WHEN	timeframe of violation
WHERE	location / event of violation

Correspondingly, the sanctions imposed as a result of a Code violation can typically be described with sentences that follow the structure below, again with some parts being optional: 

WHO must do/not do WHAT SANCTION to WHOM at WHERE for WHEN 

Table C4 below explains the semantics of each part: 

Table C4. Semantics of the Key Elements of Sanctions for Code of Ethics Violations.

Code of Ethics Violation Sanction
Information of interest	Explanation
WHO	respondent
WHAT SANCTION	obligation or prohibition
SANCTION SPECIFICS	features of obligation or prohibition
WHOM	complainant(s) / victim(s)
WHEN	duration of sanction
WHERE	location / event of sanction

B. Example Instances

Following the above structures, Table C5 below provides in a uniform fashion the same information as Table C2, i.e., some examples of reported behaviors that violated the Code of Ethics and have resulted in sanctions being imposed on those who engaged in these behaviors.

Table C5. Code of Ethics Violation Exemplars. 

Example Code of Ethics Violation #1
Violation		Sanctions
WHO	senior scholar
WHAT	discriminatory behavior	WHAT	banned		banned
SPECIFICS		SPECIFICS	speaking		Identifying as affiliated with ACM
WHOM		WHOM
WHEN	many years	WHEN
WHERE		WHERE	ACM events
Example Code of Ethics Violation #2
Violation		Sanctions
WHO	senior scholar
WHAT	leading collusion rings	WHAT	revoke	banned		banned
SPECIFICS	paper review process manipulation	SPECIFICS	life membership			publishing
WHOM		WHOM
WHEN	repeatedly	WHEN		15 years		15 years
WHERE	conferences	WHERE		ACM events
Example Code of Ethics Violation #3
Violation		Sanctions
WHO	senior scholar
WHAT	unwanted and uninvited comments and physical contact	WHAT	banned		revoke
SPECIFICS	appearance	SPECIFICS			an honor
WHOM	student	WHOM
WHEN		WHEN	2 years
WHERE		WHERE	ACM conferences
Example Code of Ethics Violation #4
Violation		Sanctions
WHO	lab manager
WHAT	unprofessional lab management	WHAT	professional incorporation of ethical behavior in the lab
SPECIFICS		SPECIFICS
WHOM		WHOM
WHEN		WHEN
WHERE		WHERE

C. Definitions and Examples of Abstract Terms and Concepts

There are several abstract terms and concepts used above for purposes of anonymity and generality. Below are definitions and/or non-exhaustive lists of concrete examples for them, drawn from the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, actual instances of violations of the Code of Ethics brought to ACM (some of them possibly but not necessarily related to any of the cases in Tables C2/C5) as well as from other potential cases. 

Table C6. Definition and Examples of Abstract Terms and Concepts.

Concept	Definition	Examples
discrimination	Prejudicial discrimination on the basis of age, color, disability, ethnicity, family status, gender identity, labor union membership, military status, nationality, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, or any other inappropriate factor.	comment: “<this group> is so conservative”; “<this group> is the smartest”; “never trust <this group>”; “<this group> is responsible for bad things”; … action: (not) hiring/promoting /rewarding/criticizing people in <a group>; …
review process manipulation	interventions in the review process that violate, ignore, or circumvent the generally accepted norms of peer reviewing and/or the specific instructions given for a journal or conference for personal gain	avoidance of coi declaration; breach of author or reviewer anonymity; reviewer coercion; unjustified lower or higher reviews, gift authorship; gift citations; …
unwanted and uninvited comments	comments on topics that are unjustified by respective stature, social relation, or area of work and/or for which the unwilling party has expressed discomfort verbally (directly or indirectly) or through body language, but the other party continues engaging in	inappropriate topics: physical appearance (self and cloths); demographic characteristics as basis for discrimination; politics; personal beliefs; … verbal direct: “this makes me uncomfortable”; “I don’t want to talk about this now”; … verbal indirect: “Sorry, but I have work to do”; “Sorry, I have another meeting”; … verbal indirect: no initiative; only brief responses; … body language: walking during conversation; increasing distance; looking elsewhere; looking at phone; …
unwanted and uninvited physical contacts	physical contact that the unwilling party neither initiated nor reciprocated, expressing discomfort verbally (directly or indirectly) or through body language, but the other party continues engaging in	unaccepted contacts: touching any body part except in handshake (in some cultures, not even that); standing very close; cornering against a wall; prolonged staring; … verbal direct: “this makes me uncomfortable”; “please stop”; “I need some space”; … verbal indirect: “Sorry, but I have work to go”; “Sorry, I have another meeting”; … body language: no initiative; no reciprocation; stepping back; closed body posture; …
unprofessional management	behavior by staff leaders (verbal or through action) that does not adhere to their organization's code of conduct and/or negatively affects staff and the organization overall	bullying or intimidation; sexual or other harassment; threats of violence or actual violence; discrimination; revenge or malicious disciplinary or legal proceedings; …
professional incorporation of ethical behavior	See the principles of section 3 of the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct .	articulate, apply, and support policies and processes that reflect the principles of the Code; create opportunities for members of the organization or group to grow as professionals; …