Internet measurement research is essential for understanding, improving, and securing Internet infrastructure. However, its methods often involve large-scale data collection and user observation, raising complex ethical questions. While recent research has identified ethical challenges in Internet measurement research and laid out best practices, little is known about how researchers actually make ethical decisions in their research practice. To understand how these practices take shape day-to-day from the perspective of Internet measurement researchers, we interviewed 16 researchers from an Internet measurement research group in the EU. Through thematic analysis, we find that researchers deal with five main ethical challenges: privacy and consent issues, the possibility of unintended harm, balancing transparency with security and accountability, uncertain ethical boundaries, and hurdles in the ethics review process. Researchers address these by lab testing, rate limiting, setting up clear communication channels, and relying heavily on mentors and colleagues for guidance. Researchers express that ethical requirements vary across institutions, jurisdictions and conferences, and ethics review boards often lack the technical knowledge to evaluate Internet measurement research. We also highlight the invisible labor of Internet measurement researchers and describe their ethics practices as craft knowledge, both of which are crucial in upholding responsible research practices in the Internet measurement community.

翻译：互联网测量研究对于理解、改进和保障互联网基础设施至关重要。然而，其研究方法通常涉及大规模数据收集和用户观察，引发了复杂的伦理问题。尽管近期研究已识别出互联网测量研究中的伦理挑战并制定了最佳实践指南，但研究者如何在具体研究实践中做出伦理决策仍鲜为人知。为从互联网测量研究者的视角理解这些实践如何在日常工作中形成，我们对欧盟某互联网测量研究团队的16位研究者进行了访谈。通过主题分析，我们发现研究者主要面临五大伦理挑战：隐私与知情同意问题、意外伤害的可能性、透明度与安全及问责之间的平衡、模糊的伦理边界，以及伦理审查流程中的障碍。研究者通过实验室测试、速率限制、建立清晰的沟通渠道，并高度依赖导师和同事的指导来应对这些挑战。研究者指出，伦理要求因机构、司法管辖区和会议而异，且伦理审查委员会往往缺乏评估互联网测量研究所需的技术知识。我们同时揭示了互联网测量研究者所承担的隐性劳动，并将其伦理实践描述为一种工艺知识——这两者对于维护互联网测量学界负责任的研究实践都具有关键意义。