50th member to support the Internet Watch Foundation
50th member to support the Internet Watch Foundation 1st October 2004
Giganews, Inc, the world's largest Newsgroup Service Provider (NSP), serving more than 10 million broadband subscribers in 180 countries, has joined the IWF as its 50th member.
This year Giganews expanded its global operations with a new technical operation in Europe. Already serving some of the largest ISP's in the UK, the IWF membership will automate the process of compliance for Giganews’ UK ISP customers, making the integration of IWF Usenet newsgroup requirements seamless.
On any given day Giganews deals with over 70 million new articles being posted through its infrastructure. The Giganews archives already host more than 450 million articles requiring approximately 400TB of storage.
With newsgroups growing at approximately 40% a year the constant evolution of technological solutions to maintain reliability, completion and storage requires expertise and forward thinking.
Giganews CEO, Jonah Yokubaitis says he's confident about the future " Newsgroups are poised to explode like never before. With the proliferation of broadband we’ve seen sharp increases in the volume of Usenet. To prepare for future growth we’ve developed patent-pending technology to help us infinitely scale our storage and newsfeed infrastructure while increasing performance for our customers. "
Usenet is a powerful tool for exchanging information online and is comprised of a collection of ever-expanding online forums called Newsgroups. Through Usenet Newsgroups, users can share information on just about any conceivable topic - from the most obscure hobbies and interests, to subjects with broad appeal, such as politics, sports and entertainment
In addition to sharing perfectly legitimate information, the potential for exchange of potentially illegal child abuse content via newsgroups is substantial.
The IWF recommends all UK ISPs should refrain from carrying about 100 named newsgroups that either regularly contain child abuse pictures or advertise their availability. As a consequence at the end of 2003, the IWF reported that for each UK ISP, per year, at least half a million potentially illegal child abuse images were no longer available to UK consumers.
Since the IWF was founded in 1996 with just 6 members, the message about a zero tolerance of illegal content online has spread to a diverse range of national and international organisations and agencies.
With the enormous range of internet services and technology available to disseminate online content, the need to have appropriate measures in place to deal with illegal material, such as indecent images of children, has become all too apparent.
In recent years a global network of hotlines has been established to transfer alerts internationally about illegal child abuse content.
INHOPE website
INHOPE website
Only a short time ago, a report to the IWF, from the UK resulted in the arrest of an individual in America. The site in question was closed down and a child was removed from the home to safety.
Partnerships with organisations such as Giganews and ongoing reports from the general public can really make a difference, worldwide.
Peter Robbins, CEO, IWF:
“ Without these partnerships and this commitment and support from the internet industry, the IWF would not exist. To reach a stage where we have 50 members is outstanding. Our membership base has increased by nearly 90% in less than 8 years.
“ Without these partnerships and this commitment and support from the internet industry, the IWF would not exist. To reach a stage where we have 50 members is outstanding. Our membership base has increased by nearly 90% in less than 8 years.
We hope that people ask themselves whether the providers and manufacturers of the internet services they use; fixed and mobile, are committed to combating illegal images online, as the members of the IWF are. ”
ABOUT GIGANEWS, INC
Founded in 1998 and profitable since 2000, Giganews, Inc. is the world's largest Newsgroup Service Provider (NSP) offering service to more than 10 million broadband subscribers in 180 countries. First to market with 99.5% article completion and industry-leading article retention of at least 50 days in binary groups, Giganews offers unparalleled Usenet Newsgroup access through a proprietary, scalable platform designed to maximize speed and reliability. Patent-pending technology allows Giganews to prepare for future growth through infinitely scalable and performance enhancing storage and newsfeed infrastructure. With technical operations in North America and Europe, Giganews serves individuals as well as the largest cable, Internet and telephony providers worldwide. Acting as the top Usenet aggregation point in the world, Giganews hosts more than 450 million articles requiring more than 400 TB of storage.
ABOUT GIGANEWS, INC
Founded in 1998 and profitable since 2000, Giganews, Inc. is the world's largest Newsgroup Service Provider (NSP) offering service to more than 10 million broadband subscribers in 180 countries. First to market with 99.5% article completion and industry-leading article retention of at least 50 days in binary groups, Giganews offers unparalleled Usenet Newsgroup access through a proprietary, scalable platform designed to maximize speed and reliability. Patent-pending technology allows Giganews to prepare for future growth through infinitely scalable and performance enhancing storage and newsfeed infrastructure. With technical operations in North America and Europe, Giganews serves individuals as well as the largest cable, Internet and telephony providers worldwide. Acting as the top Usenet aggregation point in the world, Giganews hosts more than 450 million articles requiring more than 400 TB of storage.
For more information see:
Giganews Website
ABOUT THE INTERNET WATCH FOUNDATION
The UK Internet Industry founded the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) in 1996.
The IWF is the only authorised organisation in the UK which provides an internet ‘hotline’ for the public to report their exposure to illegal content online.
Giganews Website
ABOUT THE INTERNET WATCH FOUNDATION
The UK Internet Industry founded the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) in 1996.
The IWF is the only authorised organisation in the UK which provides an internet ‘hotline’ for the public to report their exposure to illegal content online.
We aim to minimise the availability of internet content that contains:
Child abuse images originating anywhere in the world
Criminally obscene content hosted in the UK
Criminally racist content hosted in the UK
Child abuse images originating anywhere in the world
Criminally obscene content hosted in the UK
Criminally racist content hosted in the UK
We work in partnership with UK Government Departments such as the Home Office and the Department of Trade and Industry to influence initiatives and programmes developed to combat online abuse.
This dialogue goes beyond the UK and Europe, to ensure greater awareness of global issues and responsibilities.
This dialogue goes beyond the UK and Europe, to ensure greater awareness of global issues and responsibilities.
We are funded by the EU and the UK internet industry including Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Mobile Operators & manufacturers, Content Service Providers (CSPs) and telecommunications & software companies.
Through the hotline reporting system, we help ISPs to combat abuse of their services by operating a ‘notice and take down’ service which alerts them to any illegal content found on their system and we assess material reported to us and pass on any relevant details to Law Enforcement Agencies.
As a result, the amount of illegal content hosted in the UK has been reduced from 18% in 1997 to less than 1% in 2003.
As the number of people using the internet and the diversity of content available continues to grow, the mechanisms of dealing with illegal content must be better known and understood.
In partnership with many organisations, we strive to create continued awareness of the role and purpose of the IWF and aim to foster trust and reassurance in the internet for current and future users.
In partnership with many organisations, we strive to create continued awareness of the role and purpose of the IWF and aim to foster trust and reassurance in the internet for current and future users.
Created: Fri, October 1st, 2004 | Last Modified: Wed, August 9th, 2006
