Our Approach
Ethics, Transparency, and Empowerment
The ECLIPSE project is dedicated to addressing the significant threats that hate speech and mis/disinformation pose to societal cohesion, individual well-being, and democratic values in Europe. Our mission is to support a safer and more resilient society by developing innovative, ethical, and effective solutions.
We understand that projects involving security topics can raise questions about privacy, monitoring, and free speech. We want to be clear about our principles and the safeguards built into the core of ECLIPSE. Our project is not designed to monitor private communications, infringe on personal data privacy, or arbitrarily limit freedom of expression. Our purpose is not to "police" public opinion but support Law Enforcement Authorities (LEAs), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and international organisations in responding to content that is already illegal under EU and national laws, for example by helping them identify such content and co-create rights-respecting counter-narratives and training.
Our commitment to ethical and lawful operation is built on three pillars:
1. Ethics and Legality by Design
The entire ECLIPSE project is built on an "ethics-by-design" foundation. It has a dedicated Work Package on Ethics, Data Protection Law and Security that works closely with all other Work Packages throughout design, development, piloting and training, ensuring that ethical, legal and security considerations are integrated rather than treated as a separate add-on. Our work will strictly adhere to the most rigorous European legal frameworks, including:
- The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
- The Digital Services Act (DSA)
- The AI Act
We are developing a comprehensive Legal, Ethical, and Security Impact Assessment (LESIA) and a robust Data Management Plan (DMP) to ensure full transparency, accountability, and the protection of individual rights.
2. Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) Oversight
ECLIPSE does not rely on purely automated decisions for content moderation. We are implementing a "Human-in-the-Loop" (HITL) approach across our critical tools. This means human experts will always review, guide, and validate the technology's outputs. This ensures that any analysis is contextually appropriate, culturally sensitive, and ethically sound, preventing the biases that fully automated systems can introduce.
3. A Focus on awareness-raising and sensitivity training
A primary goal of ECLIPSE is not to silence, but to empower and counter. Our tools are being co-designed with and for specific end-users, Law Enforcement Authorities (LEAs), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and international organisations.
- Counter-Narratives: Instead of focusing on removal, our technology will help trained professionals co-create and share thoughtful, rights-respecting counter-narratives that challenge hate speech and disinformation online while supporting dialogue and understanding.
- Advanced Training: A significant part of our project is developing advanced training modules. By using gamification, digital storytelling, and AR/XR technologies, we aim to enhance media literacy and equip professionals to better handle the complexities of online hate.
ECLIPSE’s ultimate goal is to support resilient democracies by equipping key societal actors with modern, validated, and ethical tools to combat illegal hate and disinformation, all while rigorously safeguarding human dignity, freedom of expression, and fundamental rights.