Internet giants decide to get tough on child porn

Senior figures from internet, communications and computing firms including Google, Microsoft and BT were summoned to Parliament for a meeting with Culture Secretary Maria Miller to decide what action to take on the issue.

Mrs Miller said they had agreed a “fundamental change” to the way the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) works, with the industry-funded body set to adopt a role actively seeking out and blocking child pornography.

The main UK internet service providers (ISPs) have agreed to provide extra funding for the IWF, understood to amount to £1 million, to help it take on the extra duties. Under current arrangements the IWF only acts on content that has been reported to it rather than proactively seeking out illegal images.

Representatives from Yahoo!, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Facebook, BT, Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk, Vodafone, O2, EE and Three were summoned to the meeting.

Mrs Miller said: “What we have agreed today is a fundamental change in the way the industry will be working to remove illegal child abuse images that are too readily available online.

“It’s important, the work that has been done today, and I think we will see a real change in approach so that now the IWF will be able to seek out those images and that will be an important way of increasing the number of those images that are removed.”

Mrs Miller said there had been “clear pledges for increased funding” for the IWF from the industry.

“The industry is undertaking a review of the resources that are needed to make sure the IWF can take this proactive approach, but even today we were hearing further pledges of £1 million coming from the industry.

“This is important and it’s funding that’s come from the industry to make sure that it’s working effectively to stamp out access to these abhorrent images.”

The Culture Secretary said illegal child abuse images had caused concerns “particularly in recent months”.

Mark Bridger, who killed April Jones, and Stuart Hazell, murderer of Tia Sharp, were both found to have accessed child and violent pornography and some experts argue there is a clear link between their obsessions and their actions.

Mrs Miller, the only mother in the Cabinet, said: “I think any parent or anybody who is a resident in this country wants to see illegal child abuse images dealt with, and dealt with swiftly.

“What we have been focusing on today is making sure that the IWF can do that ... and, absolutely, as a mother of three I’m going to make sure that the work that’s going on is effective. Every parent in this country wants to make sure that their children cannot get access to these sorts of illegal sites.”

The UK’s four largest ISPs - BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media - confirmed that they will provide an additional £1 million collectively over the next four years for the IWF.

In a joint statement, the companies, the largest funders of the IWF, will also work with Government and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (Ceop) Centre to establish how best the funds can be spent.

It said: “ISPs have a zero tolerance to this material. This funding will help to target those individuals that create and distribute the content.”

Mrs Miller was challenged about a 10% cut in funding to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop).

But she told BBC Radio 4’s World at One: “We take it very seriously indeed and that is why Ceop is now part of the National Crime Agency and why we’ve got 50% more staff working within Ceop.

“It’s absolutely vital that their work continues and can reflect the scale of the problem.”

She added that the ISPs had agreed to introduce “splash pages” which tell people that the images they are attempting to view are illegal.

Mrs Miller acknowledged that it was an international issue, “but we’ve got to make sure that here in the UK we are doing everything we can - that’s what people would expect”.

Peter Davies, chief executive of the Ceop Centre, which attended the meeting, said: “With offending linked to indecent images of children (IIOC) and online child sexual exploitation so high in the public’s mind, it is essential that we all work together to provide a positive, consistent and structured approach to prevent ISP platforms and/or services being used for these purposes.

“Ceop has worked with many service providers over the last seven years and whilst we have excellent partnerships and co-operation with most, we must acknowledge there is scope for a change of pace, and more can always be done.”