Ethical framework

WML 1.0 Karma Score - Version 1.0 - Last updated: June 10, 2026.

White Mirror Lab works from the principle that experimental discomfort can be legitimate when it produces verifiable public-interest knowledge, but foreseeable real harm to people is not. This framework describes the ethical commitments and safeguards for WML 1.0.

1. Core principles

• Informed consent: no one participates without explicit acceptance of the experiment conditions and emotional-impact warning.
• Voluntary participation: users may withdraw at any time without penalty.
• Harm minimization: technical and procedural safeguards reduce harassment, doxxing, manipulation and disproportionate emotional harm.
• Transparency: methodology, aggregated results and conclusions are intended to be published after the experiment.
• Data minimization: only data needed for the declared purposes is collected.

2. Research design

WML 1.0 studies how publication, interaction and self-presentation patterns change under a public reputation score created by anonymous collective voting.

Measures include karma score, aggregated voting patterns, content activity, engagement metrics and behavioral variation over time.

3. Safeguards

• Voter anonymity by technical design and row-level security.
• Technical prevention of self-voting.
• Adult-only participation with explicit declaration.
• Ephemeral stories and limits on photo accumulation.
• Report channels, moderation and anti-bot rules.
• No automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects.

4. Risks and support

Identified risks include emotional discomfort from negative votes, coordinated harassment, ranking manipulation and privacy incidents. Safeguards include informed consent, withdrawal rights, moderation, technical controls and incident response procedures.

If the experiment causes emotional distress, consider contacting psychological support services available in your country.