Enforcement of ACM Policies

ACM’s pledge to conduct all its activities with utmost professional and ethical standards has resulted in the adoption of several key policies that span across its many computing disciplines and research practices. The efficacy of these policies lies in their enforcement, and procedures for adhering to and reporting violations against these policies have been created. In addition, measures for addressing suspected cases of violation have been crafted as they pertain to the published procedures of the following policies:

• ACM Publications Policies including the Policy on Roles and Responsibilities in ACM Publishing,
• ACM Policy Against Harassment at ACM Events,
• ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.

Complaints received regarding suspected violations of these policies will be addressed by one of the following two committees, depending on the relevancy of the allegations:

• Ethics and Plagiarism Committee of ACM’s Publications Board
• ACM’s Committee on Professional Ethics (COPE)

The outcome of any complaint investigation is communicated in writing to the subject(s) of the investigation and the complainant(s). In some cases, the subject’s immediate supervisor, a funding agency, or another publisher may also be notified. ACM does not divulge any decisions to witnesses or other third parties, nor does ACM discuss facts of the case with third parties.

Any individual found to have violated ACM policy is informed of the penalties imposed and is responsible for subsequent compliance. Moreover, ACM maintains a GDPR compliant Sanctions Database in which information about sanctions is retained for two years following the expiration of the sanction.

The information stored within the Sanctions Database includes:

• Complaints filed that resulted in sanctions
• Details of these complaint investigations and decisions
• Penalties imposed
• Appeal, if any
• Any related communications / documents submitted

Eligibility to query the database is controlled by [email protected] and is limited to authorized volunteers who have a need to know to abide by sanctions. Queries return only the name and relevant activity ban for persons who have sanctions currently in effect. It is ACM policy to maintain the public anonymity of sanctioned individuals to the greatest extent possible.

Contact: [email protected]