Open topic on preventing and countering the misuse of emerging technologies for criminal purposes, including issues related to lawful access to data

Expected Outcome:

Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Police Authorities in Europe are empowered with modern, accessible and validated tools, methodologies and training curricula to anticipate and cope with the misuse of new and emerging technologies for criminal purposes, with the aim to facilitate prevention, detection, efficient data access and investigation of criminal offences in a lawful manner and with full respect of fundamental rights, including the right to protection of personal data and to privacy;
• Reinforced interdisciplinary collaboration at the European level through the establishment of partnerships among technologists, policymakers and Police Authorities, resulting in a holistic understanding of the challenges posed by emerging technologies and in sharing of best practices;
• Clear guidelines and frameworks are created, including on procedures and rules, that ensure lawful access to data, balancing the needs of security with respect for privacy and that foster a European approach to the related challenges for the police and the judiciary.

Scope:

New and emerging technologies (e.g., new communication technologies, quantum technologies, new biometrics and identification technologies, cloud computing technologies, generative AI etc.) bring many benefits but also pose a number of new challenges for the police and the judiciary. Therefore, there is a strong need to adequately tackle challenges for Police Authorities stemming from all these new and emerging developments as well as to make sure that the lawful access to data keeps track with these evolutions, respecting applicable legislation and fundamental rights such as personal data protection and privacy.

Under the Open topic, proposals are welcome to address new and emerging technologies that are not covered by the other projects of the previous Horizon Europe Calls Fighting Crime and Terrorism, as well as of the current Call Fighting Crime and Terrorism 2026-2027. Proposals should emphasize adaptive methodologies and frameworks that can evolve in response to new threats and challenges, empowering Police Authorities to act effectively while ensuring adherence to legal standards regarding data access. Thus, research activities proposed within this topic should, in a balanced way, 1) develop modern tools, methodologies and training material for police to tackle the problem of misuse for criminal purposes of the new and emerging technologies under consideration, and 2) address issues related to lawful access to data in this context.

In this topic the integration of the gender and intersectional dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement. Coordination among the successful proposals from this topic should be envisaged to avoid duplication and to exploit complementarities as well as opportunities for increased impact.

The proposals funded under this topic that concern issues which are within the mandate of Europol^[1] are expected to engage with the Europol Innovation Lab during the lifetime of the project, including validating the outcomes, with the aim of facilitating future uptake of innovations for the law enforcement community. Similarly, if the proposals concern drug-related issues, they are expected to engage with the EU Drugs Agency during the lifetime of the project, including validating the outcomes. For Police Authorities’ training-related aspects, cooperation of successful proposals with CEPOL is expected, provided that the Agency opts out from applying for funding.

Finally, proposals are expected to address all applicable considerations expressed in the Introduction of the Fighting Crime and Terrorism Destination.

Technology Readiness Level - Technology readiness level expected from completed projects

[1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32016R0794 (Annex I).