Policing UK 2013 - Police Federation

POLICING CHALLENGES
Self-regulation – a
critical partnership
The Internet Watch Foundation is a prime
example of how self-regulation, despite its
current bad press, can be a success. By
Deborah McGovern and Emma Lowther
Deborah McGovern is
Deputy Chief Executive of the
Internet Watch Foundation
Emma Lowther is Director
of Communications at the
Internet Watch Foundation
It is arguable that in recent months
self-regulation has become
tarnished. Stained. The on-going
banking crises and the Leveson Inquiry
have not exactly painted a bright picture.
But in a quiet corner of Cambridgeshire,
self-regulation of the internet industry
has, for more than 16 years, been
successfully dealing with one of the most
horrific crimes.
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)
is the UK’s hotline for online users to
report potentially criminal content.
It handles child sexual abuse content
wherever it is hosted in the world;
criminally obscene adult content and
non-photographic child sexual abuse
images when these are hosted in the UK.
Established in 1996, the IWF has close
links with the Child Exploitation and
Online Protection (CEOP) Centre, and
hotlines and law enforcement agencies
in other countries to enable the removal
of these images, thus preventing revictimisation
of the child, and disrupting
access.
History
In 1996, Chief Inspector Stephen
French of the Metropolitan Police
Service did with the Internet Service
Providers’ Association (ISPA) what Jamie
Oliver did with dinner ladies up and
down the country – pointed out exactly
what nastiness was being served up.
Indecent images of children were
available on some newsgroups and
the police believed this may have
constituted a publication offence under
the Protection of Children Act 1978
(England and Wales) by the ISPs. A
solution needed to be found to combat
the hosting of such content in the UK,
while protecting the internet industry
from being held criminally liable for
providing access to the content.
This ignited discussions between
the former Department of Trade and
Industry (DTI), the Home Office, the
Metropolitan Police, some ISPs and the
Safety Net Foundation. An R3 Safety
Net Agreement was created, and the key
ingredient was the formation of a new
self-regulatory body to be known as the
IWF.
The IWF was established to
independently deal with public
complaints about child sexual abuse
content on the internet. When content
is assessed as criminal, it is traced to
establish where it is hosted. If it is hosted
in the UK, the IWF issues a ‘Notice
and Takedown’ to the hosting provider
to remove the content and preserve as
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