News

23/09/2008

Telefónica Europe supports the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) Online Awareness Day

Telefónica Europe is a member of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), the UK internet ‘Hotline’ for the public to report their inadvertent exposure to online child sexual abuse content hosted anywhere in the world and criminally obscene and incitement to racial hatred content hosted in the UK.

On the 24 October, O2 will join other IWF members to promote their support and collectively maximise awareness of the foundation.

The IWF was founded by the internet industry in 1996 and works in partnership with the police, government, the wider online sector and the public to combat the availability of potentially illegal online content within its remit. As a result of this self-regulatory approach, less than 1% of online child sexual abuse content has apparently been hosted in the UK since 2003, down from 18% in 1997.

All IWF industry members help to fund the organisation’s work, support its aims and have adopted the IWF Code of Practice. We work together to ensure UK networks provide the most hostile environment for hosting child sexual abuse images and to protect UK internet users from inadvertent exposure to such content.

Through the ‘Hotline’ reporting system, the IWF helps the online industry combat abuse of its services through a ‘notice and take-down’ initiative by alerting them to potentially illegal content within IWF’s remit on their systems and enabling the police to investigate those responsible. This partnership approach is recognised internationally and the IWF is committed to sharing its good practice, expertise and experience around the world, contributing to dialogue beyond the UK and Europe, to ensure greater awareness of global issues and responsibilities.

For more information or to report a website visit http://www.iwf.org.uk/.

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