Online Safety and Security for Protection of Public-Facing Professionals and Democratic Resilience

Online Safety and Security for Protection of Public-Facing Professionals and Democratic Resilience

Politician, Reporters, Teachers, Emergency services staff and Police officers are public-facing professionals (PFPs). This means they operate in the public eye with at times dramatic repercussions for their private lives (e.g. ‘trial by social media’, unwanted identification, online harassment and threats to themselves or their families). Online attacks are often framed as a way to ‘redress injustices’ or holding public professionals to account. They, however, can have dramatic negative consequences. Therefore, it is important to better understand the challenges faced by PFPs for their participation in online spaces and provide mechanisms to them and their organisations to effectively safeguard, manage and mitigate against these risks.

OSPREY will build a knowledge base for PFP-specific risks, harms, protection needs and harm impacts, focusing on mapping shared and profession-specific risk profiles and safeguarding requirements; create a comprehensive knowledge-base on attack vectors and motivations of perpetrators across to understand disparate types/motivations (e.g. personal grievances, ideological driven campaigns, foreign political campaigns) to guide improved protection approaches; co-create advanced AI tools, mechanisms and solutions shaped for PFP-specific challenges empowering secure participation in online spaces; toolkits and trainings to improve knowledge of PFPs, their employing organisations, LEAs and law/policy makers how to prevent, manage and mitigate online harms as well as legislate for better safety of PFPs; improve public awareness on online harm impacts, including practical approaches to allyship and bystander activation.