QuickLinks - Hotlines

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Issue no. 379 - 2 September 2007

• MT - Children, the internet and safety (Times of Malta)
  The Ministry for Investment, Industry and Information Technology and Agenzija Appogg have collaborated in the setting-up of the Hotline for child abuse over the internet. This project also includes the collaboration of other stakeholders such as the Cyber Crime Unit of the Malta Police Force, the Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity, the Ministry for Education, Youth and Employment, the Commissioner for Children and the local internet Service Providers. EU funds facilitated the setting-up of the Appogg hotline service, which forms part of an international network of hotlines as represented by INHOPE (Association of Internet Hotline Providers).

Issue no. 372 - 25 February 2007

• DE- 70.000 Anfragen an die Internet-Beschwerdestelle (Heise)
  70.000 Anfragen haben die Betreiber der Internetbeschwerdestelle 2006 erhalten. Das teilten der Verband Eco und die Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle Multimedia (FSM) mit. Anlass ist der Safer Internet Day, der in der kommenden Woche erneut stattfindet. Zum Safer Internet Day 2006 wurde die Internet-Beschwerdestelle unter anderem durch die von Microsoft mit vielen Partnern vorangetriebene Initiative Deutschland sicher im Netz, die mit der Site 'Die Internauten' seit Ende 2005 auch um Jugendschutz bemüht ist, in Zusammenarbeit mit eco und FSM in Betrieb genommen.

Issue no. 369 - 5 November 2006

• UK - Tackling the threat of child abuse online (BBC)
  by Peter Robbins, Chief executive, Internet Watch Foundation. It is exactly 10 years since the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) was set up by the internet industry to combat potentially illegal content online. Today sees the launch of our first consumer advertising campaign followed by a national series of conferences.

• UK - Web watchdog outlines porn battle (BBC)
  More than 30,000 websites containing child pornography have been removed in the last 10 years, new figures show. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) said the key to addressing the problem was a partnership between the public, global authorities and web providers. The number of these sites from the UK and containing illegal material fell from 18% to 0.2% in the decade. The figures marked the IWF's first 10 years and its chief executive Peter Robbins said reporting porn was vital. See IWF Press Release.

Issue no. 366 - 3 September 2006

• UK - Chat users to report child abuse (BBC)
  Users of Windows Messenger can now report suspected sexual predators of children with a mouse click. A 'report abuse' icon will soon appear on the chat software as a result of work by the UK's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP). Users will be encouraged to click the icon when they suffer or witness inappropriate sexual contact.

Issue no. 364 - 7 July 2006

• EU - Private hotlines questioned at EC Safer Internet Forum (EDRI-gram)
  With its newly adopted Communication on a 'comprehensive EU strategy to promote and safeguard the rights of the child', the Commission intends to pursue its global action on children's rights. One may however wonder whether the strategy for fighting child porn on the Internet, which mostly relies on private hotlines, is really efficient and compliant with the rule of law. These were the main issues raised at the afternoon session of the EC Safer Internet Forum 2006, held in Luxembourg on 21 June, on 'Illegal Content: Blocking access to child sexual abuse images'.

Issue no. 359 - 9 May 2006

• INHOPE and Microsoft formalise cooperation to tackle illegal Internet Content (INHOPE)
  The International Association of Internet Hotlines (INHOPE) and Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) have announced an agreement to secure Microsoft financial support for INHOPE's network of hotlines across the world over the next two years, as well as a commitment to provide expert technical training and software.

Issue no. 347 - 19 October 2005

• UK - Reports to IWF hit 100,000! (IWF)
  In October 1996 the Internet Watch Foundation received the first ever report to its Internet hotline. This week, 9 years on, the number of reports has just hit 100,000. Each year has seen a steady increase in the number of reports since the IWF has increased awareness of its service and since the public have wanted to speak out and complain about this abhorrent content on the net.

Issue no. 346 - 2 October 2005

• CY - Fighting the illegal use of the internet (Cyprus Mail)
  A new website has been launched in Cyprus, aimed at targeting improper use of the internet. SafeWeb describes itself as a hotline service of Cyprus dedicated to contribute to the restraint of distribution of illegal content over the Internet. The service states that its primary concern is the elimination of child pornographic material posted on the internet while also hoping to aims to combat all other types of illegal content, dealing with pornography, racism, online gambling, data and consumer protection. The new site service provides concerned users the means to anonymously report various illegal matters on the internet. It is partnered and supported by the Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas, Institute of Computer Science and the University of Cyprus. SafeWeb is part of the Safer Internet-plus programme which is funded by the European Union and is leading the battle in Europe against illegal use of the internet and works closely with Safeline, a Greek-based website offering a similar service throughout Greece.

Issue no. 331 - 13 February 2005

• AU - Porn complaints soar (Australian IT)
  Tne number of hotline complaints to regulators about internet pornography - especially child pornography - has soared more than 300 per cent since the scheme was set up in 2000. But while complaints about pornography on the internet have grown, the number of of pornographic sites hosted in Australia has fallen dramatically, The six-month report on the government's online content co-regulatory scheme recorded 616 complaints to the Australian Broadcasting Authority's Internet Complaints Hotline between January and July last year. Some 380 illegal sites were hosted offshore, with more than 75 per cent originating from the United States and about 10 per cent from Europe. All were referred to makers of internet software filters. The ABA forwarded 24 items of illegal content hosted offshore to the Federal Police to pass details of the sites to police overseas. It also forwarded details of 122 sites to "accredited"content complaints hotlines overseas for referral to relevant law enforcement agencies.

• PL - New hotline joins INHOPE (Press Release)
  NASK Poland was voted as provisional member of the INHOPE network of hotlines during the INHOPE General Assembly meeting in Amsterdam on 28 Jan 2005. NASK Poland began operating NIFC Hotline Polska on 1 January 2005. INHOPE is an organisation whose mission is to facilitate and co-ordinate the work of Internet hotlines in responding to illegal use and content on the Internet.

Issue no. 329 - 23 January 2005

• CA - Internet child pornography tip-line to be launched (Globe and Mail)
  A national tip-line for reporting on-line child sexual exploitation will be officially launched in Canada. The project grew out of an on-line service created by Child Find Manitoba in September 2002. Called cybertip.ca, the Manitoba-based service was the first on-line service in Canada to report instances of child exploitation. The website collects complaints and incident reports about child sexual exploitation or luring on the Internet and forwards the most serious to appropriate law enforcement agencies.

Issue no. 316 - 1 August 2004

• CA - Snitch line nets predators (Calgary Sun)
  Creeps who prey on children will face yet another hurdle as a successful Manitoba-based snitch line is set to expand nationally. The Canadian federal government has pledged to fund cybertip.ca - a program of Child Find Manitoba - 700,000 a year for five years to combat Internet crimes against children throughout the country. And Bell Canada has contributed a lump sum of $700,000 to expand the website by the fall. Cybertip.ca receives tips regarding Internet incidents of child pornography, luring, child sex-tourism, or child prostitution and forwards that information to the appropriate law enforcement agency. see also Bell fighting on-line child porn (Globe and Mail).

Issue no. 313 - 13 June 2004

• CN - China creates web vigilante site (BBC)
  The Chinese authorities have begun a new website for people to report on what officials describe as illegal or unhealthy information on the internet. The site claims it will protect Chinese web users, set to number 100 million by 2005 - a tally second only to the US. It is the latest move by Beijing to try to control the use of the internet.

Issue no. 305 - 28 March 2004

• UK - Porn net watchdog touts triumphs (BBC)
  The number of child abuse images on UK computers has fallen sharply, the Internet Watch Foundation has said. In its annual report, the net watchdog said the amount of illegal content hosted in the UK was now less than 1%, compared with 18% in 1997. The industry-founded body said the fall was due to good links with net providers and the police. But the watchdog said it was receiving more reports of potentially illegal content than last year. 55% of child abuse content is hosted in the US, where there is no effective notice and take down system and very few US ISPs have registered with the US equivalent of the IWF to try and deal with the problem of potentially illegal child abuse content. In addition, 23% of child abuse content is traced to Russia,

Issue no. 302 - 15 February 2004

• EU - Greek hotline joins INHOPE (Press Release)
  The Greek hotline Safeline has joined INHOPE at the General Assembly meeting in Helsinki. The NCMEC, USA and the StopIT, Italy hotline became full members. Including Safeline, INHOPE now has 19 members covering 17 countries focused on the wide range of illegal use and content on the Internet. INHOPE is an organisation whose mission is to facilitate and co-ordinate the work of Internet hotlines in responding to illegal use and content on the Internet. INHOPE is grateful for the long term support from the Safer Internet Action Plan of the European Commission which enabled INHOPE to become the international organization it is today.

Issue no. 286 - 3 October 2003

• Inhope tip leads to break-up of largest global child porn ring (Press Release)
  Following from a tip received from the INHOPE (Association of Internet Hotlines) member hotline in Germany (ECO's ICTF hotline) in July 2002, on Friday 26th September 2003 the German Police in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt and prosecutors in the city of Halle cracked one of the largest global child pornography networks involving some 26,500 Internet users in 166 countries! The suspects were traced using computer files seized last year from a man in the city of Magdeburg. These contained a huge e-mail distribution list that suspected paedophiles used to swap pornographic images of children, some as young as four months of age. There were 26,500 suspects worldwide including individuals in the United States, Australia and Switzerland. In Germany alone Operation Marcy involved some 1,500 police officers, hundreds of raids were conducted and police seized 745 computers, at least 35,500 CDs, 8,300 diskettes and 5,800 videos.see also Single tip smashes child porn ring (Electric News)

Issue no. 280 - 24 August 2003

• CH - Swiss revel in reporting Internet crime (NZZ)
  A special Internet police unit is being swamped by tip-offs from the public denouncing suspected criminal websites. Since the beginning of the year, 3,600 complaints have been lodged with the Swiss Coordination Unit for Cybercrime Control (Cycos). Half of the complaints concerned websites carrying pornographic content, and half of these depicted hardcore acts. Other objections addressed spam emails, racist and extremist sites and infringement of copyright.

Issue no. 272 - 24 May 2003

• CO - Diez entidades formarán un Comité para controlar la pornografía en Internet (Delitos informaticos)
  Analizarán los contenidos de páginas denunciadas a través de la línea 01 8000 912667 o por medio de www.dignidadinfantil.gov.co. Emitirá juicios sobre sanciones legales, si se trata de casos presentados en Colombia, y para los casos de fuera harán un llamamiento a los ISP para que desmonten los sitios.

• KR - South Korean hotline joins INHOPE (Press Release)
  On 15 May 2003, the General Assembly of INHOPE voted to accept the Information Communication Ethics Committee (ICEC) Internet 119 hotline based in Seoul, Korea as an Associate member of INHOPE.

Issue no. 271 - 18 May 2003

• AU - NetAlert gets extra $1.5m (Australian IT)
  The federal Government has allocated a total of $2 million over the next four years to regulate internet content and 190x phone services in this year's Budget. The government agency charged with monitoring internet censorship laws, NetAlert, had its future secured with the new federal Budget. NetAlert was created in 2000 to monitor complaints about internet content and raise awareness of federal internet censorship laws introduced that year. Earlier this year it claimed it would not be able to continue operating without a This year's federal Budget allocated $500,000 per year for the next three years for the agency. The money comes from existing funds budgeted for the Australian Broadcasting Authority, NetAlert's parent agency.

Issue no. 270 - 11 May 2003

• AU - NetAlert gets a lifeline (Australian IT)
  Internet porn watchdog NetAlert has been thrown a $500,000 lifeline in industry support and the prospect of further federal funding, according to executive director Alan Tayt.

Issue no. 267 - 21 April 2003

• EL - Hotline Safeline.Gr in operation (Safer Internet)
  SafeLine (www.safeline.gr) is the first hotline in Greece dealing with illegal Internet content. It launched its operation on 14 April. SafeLine accepts reports concerning websites or newsgroups found on the Internet and contain: images of child abuse, anywhere in the world; racist and xenophobic content that violates Greek law; other illegal content, from the point of view of the user making the report. The hotline was created under the NETWATCH project, which is co-funded by the European Union's Safer Internet Action Plan.

Issue no. 262 - 9 March 2003

• AU - Net porn watchdog pleas for cash (Austrlian IT)
  The Australian federal Government has ignored pleas for more money from the people charged with defending the internet from hardcore pornography. Internet advisory body NetAlert, the group responsible for the Government's crackdown on illegal internet content is starved of money and will not be able to continue its efforts without a multi-million-dollar funding boost.

Issue no. 258 - 2 February 2003

• IT - Pedofilia: 12 milioni immagini porno in internet (ansa.it)
  Secondo stime dell' organizzazione Save the children, considerate approssimate per difetto, su Internet ci sono attualmente 70 mila siti contenenti materiali pedo-pornografici per un totale di 12 milioni di immagini; solo in Italia, il giro d' affari della pedopornografia e' stimato intorno agli undici miliardi di euro all' anno. I dati sono emersi, a Udine, durante la presentazione di Stop it, un' iniziativa che attraverso un sito web permette di segnalare immediatamente la presenza di materiale pornografico individuato in rete. 'Stop it' e' stato cofinanziato dalla Commissione Europea nell' ambito dell' Internet Action Plan, la strategia dell' Unione Europea per la tutela dell' infanzia in Internet. Vedere anche Il pedoporno che sfrutta internet (Punto Informatico)

Issue no. 257 - 26 January 2003

• UK - Child porn complaints rocket (Guardian)
  The Internet Watch Foundation, a UK industry funded body set up to battle the growing problem of child pornography on the web, said that the number of complaints had risen 64% to 17,868 in 2002.

Issue no. 256 - 18 January 2003

• CA - Cyber tips help catch child porn sites (canada.com)
  A cyber tip line launched in Manitoba has resulted in about 15 child porn Web sites being shut down. Billed as the first of its kind in Canada, cybertip.ca has received 76 reports of child pornography and luring on the Internet.

• CH - La Suisse ouvre une cellule de lutte contre la cybercriminalité (NetEconomie)
  Désormais, la Suisse propose aux personnes "souhaitant signaler l'existence de sites Internet suspects" un point de contact central : le SCOCI - Service national de coordination de la lutte contre la criminalité sur Internet.

• CH - Schweizer Polizei betreibt wieder Internet-Monitoring (Heise)
  Nach drei Jahren Unterbrechung wird in der Schweiz seit Anfang dieses Jahres wieder ein polizeiliches Internet-Monitoring betrieben. Die neu geschaffene Koordinationsstelle zur Bekämpfung der Internet-Kriminalität KOBIK versteht sich als "Anlaufstelle für Personen, die verdächtige Internet-Inhalte melden möchten." Daneben will KOBIK auch selbst aktiv nach strafrechtlich relevantem Content Ausschau halten.

Issue no. 244 - 7 September 2002

• INHOPE Association is seeking a Secretary-General (Press Release)
  The Association of Internet Hotline Providers in Europe (INHOPE) exists to coordinate an international network of hotlines receiving complaints about allegedly illegal Internet content. An exciting opportunity has arisen for a full-time Secretary-General to join this developing non-profit organisation. Applications should be received before October 4th, 2002. For further information about this job, please contact Thomas Rickert via email at president@inhope.org. Please send your application and resume to jobs@inhope.org.

• Ireland - Internet child porn reports rise 50% each year (Irish Examiner)
  Reports of alleged child pornography on the internet are increasing by a rate of 50% each year, according to web watchdog, hotline.ie. The hotline received almost 700 reports in the 18 months up to June 2001. At least another 700 reports have come in during the last 12 months, according to Cormac Callanan, site's director.

Issue no. 243 - 31 August 2002

• Danish hotline tip uncovers international paedophile ring (BBC)
  An international ring of paedophiles has been uncovered in which parents allegedly abused their own children and then posted the images on the internet, the United States Customs Service says. Operation Hamlet was launched after Danish police were given information by the Save the Children charity about photographs of a man molesting a nine-year-old girl. Ten people have been arrested in the US and 10 in Europe, including in England. The head of the US Customs Service, Robert Bonner, described it as the most despicable crime he had ever encountered. He said at least 45 children between the ages of two and 14 had been abused, most of them by their own parents. Mr Bonner said the children had been forced to commit sex acts. See also More Police Arrested In Internet Child Porn Investigation (Guardian).

Issue no. 241 - 24 July 2002

• UK - IWF calls for support to help fight rise in Web paedophiles (NMA To Go)
  The dramatic increase in online paedophile activity has stretched the resources of self regulated industry body The Internet Watch Foundation to near breaking point, according to its newly appointed chief executive. Peter Robbins told NMA that the industry-backed body, which monitors the Web for illegal content, is urgently on the look-out for new funding in order to cope with the surge in demand for its services.

Issue no. 240 - 14 July 2002

• BE - Une @rme contre l'e-pédophilie (Le Soir)
  Pornographie. Child Focus intensifie la lutte en créant un « point de contact civil » sur l'internet. Child Focus lance sur internet un site qui collectera le signalement de tout matériel à caractère pédopornographique : un outil par le biais duquel le public pourra signaler tout contenu mettant en péril l'intégrité sexuelle des enfants

Issue no. 237 - 16 June 2002

• EU - First Inhope Report (INHOPE)
  First Report covering the period from November 1999 to 2002 published in May 2002. (PDF-format)

Issue no. 236 - 8 June 2002

• IE - Computer users urged to report porn sites (Irish Examiner)
  Computer users who have unwittingly or innocently accessed illegal material have been urged to contact the special hotline operated by the Internet Service Providers Association of Ireland, which was established to counteract child pornography on the internet

Issue no. 234 - 11 May 2002

• Internet Hotlines as Evaluation Institutions (Bertelsmann Foundation)
  Workshop in cooperation with the INHOPE Association. London, February 3, 2000. Objectives: Develop reliable mechanisms for international cooperation; Develop assessment criteria/ procedures for hotlines: Establishing hotlines as institutions that evaluate Internet content ; Clarify relation to law enforcement.

Issue no. 231 - 14 April 2002

• UK - Policing the net (Guardian)
  Peter Robbins takes over as chief executive of the Internet Watch Foundation at a time when the self-regulatory group is facing increasing charges of censorship.

Issue no. 224 - 16 February 2002

• UK - Internet Watch Foundation tightens newsgroups policy (Internet Magazine)
  Child pornography watchdog the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) is hardening its attitude towards newsgroups known to include illegal material. The IWF normally works with ISPs to run a 'notice and takedown' procedure whereby individual illegal items, not entire newsgroups, are taken offline. But it is changing its recommendations, and now wants all newsgroups carrying illegal material to be taken down. see also UK - IWF - New Policies on Newsgroups (Press Release), A New Chief Executive for IWF, Board Membership Changes and Resignations as Internet Watch Bans Newsgroups(Malcolm Hutty).

Issue no. 223 - 10 February 2002

• Ireland - One child porn complaint every day (Irsih Times)
  An average of one incident of child pornography on the Internet is reported every day in Ireland. Publishing its annual report, the Internet Advisory Board revealed its hotline had received 671 complaints of child pornography since its inception in 1999.

Issue no. 216 - 8 December 2001

• EC, US To Share Internet Child-Porn Reporting, Databases (Newsbytes)
  Backed up European Commission funding, nine national hotlines for reporting child pornography on the Internet will automate information sharing in an effort to curb the appearance of the prohibited material on Web sites.

Issue no. 213 - 11 November 2001

• France - Lutte contre les réseaux incitant à la pédophilie (Point de contact "Protection des mineurs")
  Créé par les ministères de la justice, de l'intérieur, de la défense et de l'emploi et de la solidarité, ce site vous permet de signaler aux autorités judiciaires les sites ou autres services en ligne (e-mails, news groups, chat) à caractère pédophile.

Issue no. 208 - 24 September 2001

• France - Adresse électronique pour signaler les sites pédophiles (internet.gouv.fr)
  La ministre déléguée à la famille, à l'enfance et aux personnes handicapées a présenté une communication sur la mise en place très prochaine d'une adresse électronique, ouverte à tous, bien sûr, pour signaler les sites pédophiles. Les courriers électroniques ainsi envoyés parviendront directement à l'Office Central de Lutte contre la Criminalité liée aux Technologies de l'information et de la Communication (OCLCTIC).

Issue no. 203 - 19 July 2001

• Germany - Öffentliche Beschwerdestelle für Newsgroups (Heise)
  Der Kölner Verband der deutschen Internet-Wirtschaft eco richtet mit NewsWatch eine öffentliche Online-Hotline für Beschwerden rund um "illegale oder bedenkliche" Inhalte im Usenet ein.

Issue no. 201 - 26 June 2001

• Internet pioneer honoured (BBC)
  An internet pioneer who spearheaded the fight against the spread of child pornography on the web has been honoured by the Queen. Peter Dawe receives an OBE for his work with the Internet Watch Foundation.

Issue no. 199 - 4 June 2001

• Canada - New Cyber Tip Line To Protect Children On The Internet (Press Release)
  A cyber tip line and the Children Online Protection Committee are two new measures being undertaken by the Province of Manitoba to protect Manitoba children from being exploited on the Internet. The committee’s mandate includes: assisting victims; setting up a cyber tip line; promoting industry self-regulation by Internet service providers; encouraging the use of filtering; assisting in the identification of child pornography and luring on the Internet; gathering research on the extent of exploitative material on the Internet; and recommending prevention strategies to further child safety.

• Hotlines unite for a EC crackdown on cybercrime (ZDNet UK)
  The Inhope Association will be launching a new Web site designed to encourage a global crackdown on Internet child pornography.

Issue no. 192 - 26 March 2001

• A New Zealand hotline (childsafety1st.org.nz)
  The hotline will provide the ability for people to report instances of child pornography found on the internet, through the website, anonymously, where it will be swiftly forwarded onto the appropriate authorities for processing.

Issue no. 168 - 9 September 2000

• Hotlines lead the way in U.K. Internet cleanup (CNN)
  A series of hotlines aimed at cleaning up the Internet have resulted in thousands of sites being removed from servers in the U.K. Since launching in 1996, hotlines run by the U.K.-based Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) have been instrumental in getting more than 25,000 potentially illegal items, mostly child pornography, removed from servers.

• Australia - Safety on the Net (DCITA)
  NetAlert, an advisory service that includes a toll free national help line and an informative website to help Australians manage Internet content access with greater certainty has been launched.

QuickLinks consists of

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