Professor and Vice Chair
Department of Computer Science
Director of Center for Data Ethics
Dr. Michael Zimmer is the Director of Marquette's Center for Data Ethics, an interdisciplinary center advancing research, education, and collaboration on the ethics of data and AI for human dignity, justice, and the common good.
Background
Dr. Michael Zimmer is a privacy and data ethics scholar whose work focuses on digital privacy & surveillance, the ethics of big data & artificial intelligence, and the broader social & ethical dimensions of emerging digital technologies.
Recognized globally as an expert in data, AI, and internet research ethics, Dr. Zimmer’s work is used by researchers, ethics bodies, and government & industry partners worldwide, and he serves on multiple ethics committees and advisory boards.
As a founding member of the PERVADE (Pervasive Data Ethics for Computational Research) project, Zimmer investigates how researchers, platforms, regulators, and user communities confront the complex ethical challenges posed by computational research using large-scale, pervasive datasets about people. Other recent projects have explored the privacy and ethical risks posed by emerging technologies, including wearable fitness trackers, smart-home devices, autonomous vehicles, femtech applications, and predictive algorithms.
Courses Taught
- CORE 1929: Methods of Inquiry: Communicating with Data
- COSC 1820: Data, Ethics, and Society
- COSC 3820: Professional Ethics in Computer & Data Science
- COSC 4820/5820: Social and Ethical Implications of Data
- COSC 6820: Data Ethics
- COSC 6960: Seminar in Computer Science: Critical Algorithm Studies
Research Interests
- Privacy
- Data ethics
- Internet research ethics
- AI ethics
- Social & ethical computing
Professional Affiliations
Publications
- Zimmer, M., Fiesler, C., & Vitak, J. (2026). The PERVADE Data Ethics Tool: Supporting Reflexive Research Ethics Education. SIGCSE TS 2026: Proceedings of the 57th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V.2, 1717.
- Brown, M. A., Gruen, A., Maldoff, G., Messing, S., Sanderson, Z., & Zimmer, M. (2025). Web scraping for research: Legal, ethical, institutional, and scientific considerations. Big Data & Society, 12(4).
- Park, S., Nellore, N., Zimmer, M., & Vitak, J. (2025). In Search of “a Way to Level the Playing Field”: Helping Incidental Users Navigate Privacy Risks in Smart Environments. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction.
- Nellore, N., Mishra, T., & Zimmer, M. (2024). Unveiling User Perspectives: Exploring Themes in Femtech Mobile App Reviews for Enhanced Usability and Privacy. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 8(MHCI), 1-21.
- Park, S., He, W., Deldari, E., Emami-Naeini, P., Huang, D.Y., Vitak, J., Yao, Y. and Zimmer, M. (2024). Well-intended but half-hearted: Hosts’ consideration of guests’ privacy using smart devices on rental properties. In Twentieth Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS 2024) (pp. 179-198)
- Kumar, P. C., Zimmer, M., & Vitak, J. (2024). A Roadmap for Applying the Contextual Integrity Framework in Qualitative Privacy Research. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 8(CSCW)
- Fiesler, C., Zimmer, M., Proferes, N., Gilbert, S., & Jones, N. (2024). Remember the Human: A Systematic Review of Ethical Considerations in Reddit Research. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 8(GROUP), 1-33.
- Lenhart, A., Park, S., Zimmer, M., & Vitak, J. (2023). “You Shouldn’t Need to Share Your Data”: Perceived Privacy Risks and Mitigation Strategies Among Privacy-Conscious Smart Home Power Users. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 7(CSCW2), 1–34.
- Park, S., Lenhart, A., Zimmer, M., & Vitak, J. (2023). “Nobody’s Happy”: Design Insights from Privacy-Conscious Smart Home Power Users on Enhancing Data Transparency, Visibility, and Control. Nineteenth Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS 2023), 543–558.
- Vitak, J., Kumar, P., Liao, Y., & Zimmer, M. (2023). Boundary Regulation Processes and Privacy Concerns With (Non-)Use of Voice-Based Assistants. Human-Machine Communication, 6, 183–201.
- Vitak, J., & Zimmer, M. (2023). Surveillance and the future of work: Exploring employees’ attitudes toward monitoring in a post-COVID workplace. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 28(4).
- Ajmani, L. H., Chancellor, S., Mehta, B., Fiesler, C., Zimmer, M., & De Choudhury, M. (2023). A Systematic Review of Ethics Disclosures in Predictive Mental Health Research. 2023 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency, 1311–1323.
- Vitak, J., & Zimmer, M. (2023). Power, Stress, and Uncertainty: Experiences with and Attitudes toward Workplace Surveillance During a Pandemic. Surveillance & Society, 21(1), 29–44.
- Vitak, J., Liao, Y., Mols, A., Trottier, D., Zimmer, M., Kumar, P., & Pridmore, J. (2023). When Do Data Collection and Use Become a Matter of Concern? A Cross-Cultural Comparison of U.S. and Dutch Privacy Attitudes. International Journal of Communication, 17, 471-498.
- Pater, J., Fiesler, C., & Zimmer, M. (2022). No Humans Here: Ethical Speculation on Public Data, Unintended Consequences, and the Limits of Institutional Review. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 6(GROUP), 1-13.
- Zimmer, M. and Logan, S. (2021), Privacy concerns with using public data for suicide risk prediction algorithms: a public opinion survey of contextual appropriateness, Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society.
- Shilton, K., Moss, E., Gilbert, S. A., Bietz, M. J., Fiesler, C., Metcalf, J., Vitak, J., & Zimmer, M. (2021). Excavating awareness and power in data science: A manifesto for trustworthy pervasive data research. Big Data & Society
- Proferes, N., Jones, N., Gilbert, S., Fiesler, C., & Zimmer, M. (2021). Studying Reddit: A Systematic Overview of Disciplines, Approaches, Methods, and Ethics. Social Media + Society.
- Reuter, K., Deodhar, A., Makri, S., Zimmer, M., Berenbaum, F., Nikiphorou, xE. (2021). COVID-19 pandemic impact on people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases: Insights from patient-generated health data on social media. Rheumatology.
- Hargittai, E., Redmiles, E. M., Vitak, J., & Zimmer, M. (2020). Americans’ willingness to adopt a COVID-19 tracking app. First Monday, 25(11). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v25i11.11095
- Vitak, J., & Zimmer, M. (2020). More Than Just Privacy: Using Contextual Integrity to Evaluate the Long-Term Risks from COVID-19 Surveillance Technologies. Social Media + Society.
- Wu, P., Vitak, J., & Zimmer, M. (2020). A Contextual Approach to Information Privacy Research. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology. 71(4). 485-490.
- Zimmer, M., Kumar, P., Vitak, J., Liao, Y., & Chamberlain Kritikos, K. (2020). ‘There’s Nothing Really They Can Do with This Information’: Unpacking How Users Manage Privacy Boundaries for Personal Fitness Information. Information, Communication & Society, 23(7), 1020-1037.
- Reuter ,K., Zhu, Y., Angyan, P., Le, N., Merchant, A., Zimmer, M. (2019). Public Concern About Monitoring Twitter Users and Their Conversations to Recruit for Clinical Trials: Survey Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 21(10).
- Chu, K. H., Colditz, J., Sidani, J., Zimmer, M., & Primack, B. (2019). Re-evaluating standards of human subjects protection for sensitive health data in social media networks. Social Networks.
- Liao, Y., Vitak, J., Kumar, P., Zimmer, M., & Kritikos, K. (2019). Understanding the Role of Privacy and Trust in Intelligent Personal Assistant Adoption. In Proceedings of the 14th Annual iConference, Lecture Notes in Computer Science (iConference) (pp. 102-113).
- Zimmer, M. (2018). Addressing Conceptual Gaps in Big Data Research Ethics: An Application of Contextual Integrity. Social Media + Society, 4(2).
- Zimmer, M. & Kinder-Kurlanda, K. (Eds.). (2017). Internet Research Ethics for the Social Age: New Challenges, Cases, and Contexts. New York: Peter Lang
Honors and Awards
- Way Klingler Fellowship, Marquette University (2025-2027)
Grants
- "Developing Educational Resources for the Ethical Use of Pervasive Data" National Science Foundation (NSF) ER2: Collaborative Research Grant. Co-Principal Investigator: $78,418 ($400,000 total project funding). 2024-2027
-
"Ethics Education and Preparedness for AI Researchers: A Benchmarking Study." Notre Dame-IBM Technology Ethics Lab. Principal Investigator: $4,625. 2023-2024
-
"Supporting Privacy Negotiation Among Multiple Stakeholders in Smart Environments." National Science Foundation (NSF) SaTC SMALL: Collaborative Research Grant. Co-Principal Investigator: $145,615 ($599,978 total project funding). 2023-2025
- “How COVID-19 is Changing Workplace Surveillance: American Workers’ Experiences & Privacy Expectations When Working from Home” Social Science Research Council (SSRC) Rapid-Response Grants on Covid-19 and the Social Sciences. Co-Principal Investigator: $5,000. 2020-2021
-
"PERVADE: Pervasive Data Ethics for Computational Research". National Science Foundation (NSF) CHS: LARGE: Collaborative Research grant. Co-Principal Investigator: $373,957 ($3 million total project funding). 2017-2021
-
“Mapping Privacy and Surveillance Dynamics in Emerging Mobile Ecosystems: Practices and Contexts in the Netherlands and US.” National Science Foundation (NSF) EAGER (EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research) grant. Co-Principal Investigator: $100,685 ($262,000 total project funding). 2016-2019
Editorial Boards
• ACM Journal for Responsible Computing
• IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society
• Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication
• Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society
• Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media
• Journal of Sociotechnical Critique
Dr. Michael ZimmerMarquette University
