Internet Watch Foundation

 

The IWF also reveals that 80 per cent of the children in abusive images are female and 91 per cent appear to be under 12 years old.

 

The challenge to have commercial websites removed from the web is a still a serious one, with some of the most prolific sites avoiding closure by ‘hopping’ servers across different legal jurisdictions. One site, for example, has been reported 224 times to the IWF since 2002. This underlines the need for unified international efforts to combat child abuse content. 90 per cent of commercial child abuse sites appear to be hosted in the US and Russia*.

 

The IWF also states that it has managed a 34 per cent increase in reports processed by its ‘Hotline’. The reports led to the confirmation of 10,656 URLs, on 3,077 websites, containing potentially illegal child abuse content. 82.5 per cent of all the websites were apparently linked to the US or Russia, up from 67.9 per cent in 2005.

 

Peter Robbins QPM, IWF CEO, said: “Sadly, we have to report new trends regarding the young age of the child victims in the images we assess and the dreadful severity of abuse they are suffering and these facts, coupled with the longevity of some commercial websites, mean the victims’ abuse can be perpetuated for many years as the images are repeatedly viewed. The increase in reports processed by our ‘Hotline’ team is due in part to the increased awareness of our organisation but also to the identification of a growing trend in the use of remote image storage facilities. The UK has virtually eradicated the hosting of potentially illegal online child abuse content within its virtual borders.”

 

Some commercial child abuse websites store their images remotely and occasionally in fragments, often hosted on different servers around the world. By distancing the parent site from the actual images and breaking up the image itself, those operating commercial child abuse websites are clearly trying to protect their content from removal and complicate the detection process.

 

The Annual Report also reveals for the first time a significant increase in the abuse of photo sharing websites by offenders. In 2004, no images posted on photo album sites were added to the IWF’s database, however, they now account for 10.5 per cent of those URLs confirmed to have child abuse content.

 

2006 was the IWF’s ten year anniversary and they marked the success of their self-regulatory approach, in partnership with the UK online industry, with an awareness campaign and conferences around the country.

 

 

Key Figures 2006 31,776 reports processed by IWF ‘Hotline’ (34% increase on 2005) Less than 1% of all child abuse content hosted in the UK since 2003 Victim details 80% victims in all the URLs (individual images) confirmed to be abusive are female 91% of victims in URLs confirmed to be abusive appear to be under 12 years old Severity Child abuse images (commercial and non-commercial) of levels 4 and 5 (the most severe) increased from 7% in 2003 to 29% in 2006, of all confirmed abusive URLs 57% of commercial child abuse domains known to IWF contain image level 4 and 5 in 2006 Longevity 94 commercial websites reported by IWF to relevant authorities in 2006 have been actively selling child abuse images since 2005, 33 live since 2004, 32 live since before 2004 Images 10,656 individual URLs containing child abuse content (74% increase on 2005) 3,077 domains account for all these URLs 1,667 of these domains were commercial websites 10.5% of all URLs with child abuse content in 2006 were on photo album websites Regions – commercial child abuse domains: 62% of commercial child abuse domains hosted in US 28% commercial child abuse domains hosted in Russia Police intelligence In 2006 IWF provided 11 evidential statements supporting UK police enquiries Gave evidence given at 5 UK trials 42 reports from IWF still under investigation

 

For an online version of the 2006 Annual Report after 17 April, visit www.iwf.org.uk

For a hard copy, email media@iwf.org.uk

 

Home Office Minister, Vernon Coaker MP, said: "The IWF Annual Report reveals deplorable trends in the sexual exploitation of children via new technologies but behind these figures there is a UK success story. The IWF has made dramatic and continued progress in tackling the availability of illegal images of child abuse and has made a significant and on-going contribution to the eradication of exploitation sites hosted in the UK, and the prevention of access to sites hosted abroad"

 

Contact: Home Office Press Office: 0207 0353535

 

 

Jim Gamble, Chief Executive, CEOP Centre, said: “In partnership, the CEOP Centre and the IWF have continued the drive to make the UK one of the most hostile online spaces in the world for those who want to use technology to exploit children.”

 

Contact: CEOP Press Office: 0870 000 3434

 

 

John Carr, NCH Internet Consultant, said: “The IWF’s blocking solution is now being taken up in many more countries around the world. What more eloquent compliment could there be for the IWF’s invaluable work?”

Contact: John Carr: 07717 512247

The IWF is the only authorised organisation in the UK operating an internet ‘Hotline’ for the public and IT professionals to report their exposure to potentially illegal content online.

 

Our aim is to minimise the availability of potentially illegal internet content, specifically:

We work in partnership with police and 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.

 

We are funded by the EU and the online industry including internet service providers, mobile operators and manufacturers, content service providers and telecommunications and software companies, as well blue-chip and other organisations who support the IWF for CSR reasons.

 

Through the hotline reporting system, we help ISPs to combat abuse of their services through a ‘notice and take-down’ service by alerting them to any potentially illegal content on their systems and simultaneously inviting the police to investigate the publisher.

 

We also provide a comprehensive list of websites containing child abuse content for organisations such as ISPs, mobile network operators, software companies and search engines to block access to potentially illegal child abuse images.