Ethical web design : An audit of municipality websites in Europe

Abstract: All municipalities have a website. This thesis examined the websites of 24 towns in 6 EU member countries in terms of their ethical design. This study found that there are websites that are in the stage of providing contact information only, while other are more detailed with advanced techniques allowing openness and participation. The study found also that there is no code of ethics or EU / country laws that regulate the design or content of a municipality website, as far as their ethical aspect is concerned. What is regulated by the EU and the countries of the municipalities studied in this thesis, is the existence and use of cookies in municipality websites.  The study found that due to lack of control, the websites’ ethical design mainly depends on the local authorities’ interest and initiative. Even for cookies where laws exist, citizens are not informed correctly.