About

OSPREY aims to strengthen the protection of those who serve in the public eye and uphold democratic life: elected officials at local, national and EU levels, as well as police professionals. It is a reaction to the increasing pressures on democratic institutions at the local, national and EU levels arising from online threats, which signal an erosion of democratic values and declining public trust in democratic processes.

The online sphere has emerged as a core attack vector (e.g., online hate, bullying and trolling, doxing, threats, and mis- and disinformation campaigns), with online risks and exposure now an integral part of public-facing professions. Online abuse is therefore no longer a background issue. While the risks and their wider consequences for professions and open society are widely recognised, efforts to address them remain fragmented, inconsistent, and difficult to operationalise in practice. As a result, online risks and harms remain an under-researched and under-appreciated area.

Further, the degree to which online harms occur is often not recorded, which means trends cannot be monitored, and information about the type and extent of risks and harms cannot be produced. This leads to considerable gaps in knowledge about the full spectrum of risks and harms, perpetrator characteristics and attack vectors public-facing professionals face.

OSPREY will develop a comprehensive, practitioner-focused toolkit that combines prevention, mitigation and digital evidence capabilities. Building on an extensive investigation of the online harms landscape, OSPREY will deliver innovative, modular capabilities and operationally focused tools to improve the protection, management, and mitigation of online risks and harms. The project addresses harms experienced by individuals, as well as harms targeting democratic institutions and the broader threats to democratic resilience.