The ATHENA equation – balancing the efficacy of citizens’ response with the reality of citizens’ rights around data protection

The ways and extent to which LEAs and other crisis responders might possibly harness new communication media – particularly web-based social media such as Twitter and Facebook, and the prolific use of high-tech mobile devices to provide efficient and effective communication and enhanced situational awareness during a crisis is being explored by Sheffield Hallam University’s EC-funded ATHENA project, which comes to an end in December 2016. This article is the first of a two-part analysis of that seminal project funded by the European Commission and considers the legal issues arising from utilising citizen responders’ data in civil emergencies