UK: The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) - the UK 'Hotline' for taking reports on illegal online content
The IWF is the only authorised organisation in the UK operating an internet ‘Hotline’ for the public and IT professionals to report their exposure to potentially illegal content online.
Our aim is to minimise the availability of potentially illegal internet content, specifically:
• child abuse images hosted anywhere in the world
• criminally obscene content hosted in the UK
• incitement to racial hatred content hosted in the UK.
Through the hotline reporting system, we help ISPs to combat abuse of their services through a ‘notice and take-down’ service by alerting them to any potentially illegal content on their systems and simultaneously inviting the police to investigate the publisher.
We work in partnership with government departments, the police, the online industry and the public. As a result, less than 1% of potentially illegal content has apparently been hosted in the UK since 2003.
The internet provides a wealth of opportunity for all of us. However, such global technologies and innovative services can also be abused to facilitate the exploitation of children and the perpetuation of their sexual abuse.
Recent developments, for example, in social networking and online picture and video services enable a wide range of positive communications. These websites can allow easy, free, unlimited and anonymous posting of photographs which, sadly, provides an online medium for some internet users to abuse. Most of these sites are hosted overseas so the IWF passes details of those reports which breach UK law to the Hotline in that country, where such a service exists, and in every case, to Interpol via the UK Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre partners. If the sites are hosted within the UK the IWF works with the police and the content service providers to have the content removed and, if possible, the publisher prosecuted.
Young people should also be reminded that it is an offence to post online an indecent photograph of anyone under 18, including yourself. These photographs constitute child abuse images and, once on the internet, are accessible indefinitely.
The global nature of network abuse and child exploitation as well as the knowledge that child abuse websites regularly ‘hop’ server and host country, underlines the need for unified international efforts, transcending borders and legal jurisdictions. This would ensure action is taken quickly and effectively to have websites hosting child abuse content removed and those who publish illegal material traced and investigated.
The IWF continues its commitment to share experience, knowledge and practices with Hotlines around the world. We also look forward to helping to develop a European database of potentially illegal child abuse websites which will facilitate Europe-wide improvements in effectiveness and information sharing amongst hotlines.
For more information about the Internet Watch Foundation visit www.iwf.org.uk
