Moonshot Ethics

Working at the intersection of data, technology and online harms means that our team is constantly grappling with complex ethical issues. We recognize the potential of our work to change lives for the better, but we also recognize its potential to do harm.

That’s why we have developed ethical safeguards at every step of the way. We see our duty of care and our commitment to data privacy not as barriers for us to overcome in the development of our technology, but as opportunities to make products that are both more ethical and more effective.

Data Privacy & Data Ethics

Moonshot’s methodologies are fully compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): a European Union law that governs how organizations handle personal data and protect users’ privacy.

Our responsibility to safeguard users’ data and privacy is consistent across all our work and we are GDPR-compliant across all geographies, not just the EU and UK. We collect and analyze public data based on the legitimate purpose principle within the law, which refers to reasons of substantial public interest: preventing and ending online harms.

Ethical Governance & Ethical Delivery

Moonshot’s Ethics Committee guides ethical practice within the organization and fosters among all staff the responsibility to think and act ethically – and to challenge “best practice” and received wisdom where needed.

Projects and project proposals undergo formal ethical reviews at key stages and decision points, from client engagement, to opportunity definition, to methodology selection, to implementation and dissemination.

The Ethics Committee, in tandem with Moonshot’s Data Protection Officers, helps ensure that the scope of a project’s data collection is strictly defined to achieve the goal of the project in accordance with our data ethics framework. We bring in external experts to peer review our work.

Transparency

Moonshot is committed to being as transparent about our work as we can. Every year, we publish the results of an independent ethics audit, no matter the result.

An independent auditor recently completed its 2021 review of our policies and procedures relating to ethics and human rights. Auditors interviewed staff, without leadership present, and reviewed a number of projects.

While we are pleased that our formal and informal culture of ethical thinking and practice has been recognized, there are challenges on the horizon – especially as we grow our team and expand our work.

We have also recently open-sourced our Ethics Framework for others working in the sector and beyond. This is intended as a living document as we work to maintain and grow our culture of rigor, ethics and human rights.

If you have any questions or concerns about our work, please do not hesitate to reach out.