Recently, in January 2025, EUROPOL Innovation Lab (European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation) revised a report that comprehends ethics in decision-making and law enforcement in assessing new technologies.
As we know, cybercriminals are quick to integrate new technologies into their operations, creating new business models and revising their tactics. The need of a compromise between central values, ethics and use-case application turns out to be relevant and very useful for innovation developers whilst preserving our values.
How to convert and insert key moral and ethical values into law enforcement in the use of modern technologies to protect citizens from cyber-risks?
A precise methodology is here used to make this transition in integrating innovative solutions to ensure public safety and cyber-security: from the moral problem of a tool to the juridical options and the compromise found in between. The main purpose of this document is that it is meant to be a ‘living but durable’ document. It remains based on eternal ethical values but is constructed by additional use-cases over time, which makes it even more relevant.
Thus, the idea of this process is to start from a situational example (use-case) with the using of a precise tool or a method used by the police, explain its moral problem and how it doesn’t fit with the central values and human rights. The aim here is first (1) to capture this problem by examining different moral reactions to the intended use of technology, feeling someone’s disgust or anger and thus record various opinions in the public debate. Right after (2), the purpose is to enumerate the relevant facts about the use-case, such as facts about technology and how it is applied in the present situation. Then (3), we wonder and try to figure out who, what parties are affected by the used technology in question: victims, LEAs, offenders… how everyone is concerned about the use-case. Transparency is key in this step as it involves communication and observation in the viewpoints of the parties. Next step (4), the purpose is to comprehend and explicate a set of values that are involved and that an intervention or any law enforcement intervention: common values, professional values and special values. At first, the report insists a lot on those described central values that must be considered while using technologies in law enforcement – as long as the use of new technology can sometimes entail ethical problems. Transparency, fairness, privacy and accountability are 4 values that EUROPOL will overall be considering while assessing technology for LEAs. In fifth place (5), it is a question to imagine options that express the set of values suggested (among the 4 listed). An intervention is considered value-based if it acceptably reflects the chosen set of values, with multiple options potentially qualifying – though not equally – while any option that cannot accommodate the full set must be rejected or adjusted, such as by increasing human involvement. Next step (6) is meant to assess a final solution based on the consideration of the rightness and the consequences of the imagined options. Four principles here are considered: consistency, dignity, public acceptance and accountability. (7) We finally imagine if those principles are applied and respected after having figured how would have evolved the situation by our final decision. At the end, the process is summarised in order to ensure and evaluate the relevance of this decision and the selected choice(s).
In this report, 5 use-cases are studied but 3 among them in particular draw attention.
The first involves data scraping from online marketplaces to detect stolen goods; while effective, it breaches privacy norms and platform terms, leading to its rejection due to legal and ethical concerns. The second focuses on PrevBot, a tool designed to detect child grooming in chat environments; although it promotes safety, its accuracy issues raise fairness concerns. Two options are proposed: one maximizing PrevBot’s functions with data deletion protocols but facing reliability risks, and another limiting its use by setting an age threshold, trading efficiency for greater accountability. The third use case assesses automated analysis of complex datasets, which enhances investigative speed and scope but raises concerns about privacy, function creep, and transparency. The report recommends a balanced approach combining technological benefits with safeguards, oversight, and adaptability to evolving societal standards. That strategy enables law enforcement to benefit from automation while upholding public trust through safeguards, external oversight, and transparent processes, adapted over time as both technology and societal expectations evolve.
This methodology used by EUROPOL to assess the ethical dimension of the tool will be useful for the security industry as well as research projects.
PSC-Europe