Internet Watch Foundation

Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) Chief Executive, Peter Robbins OBE, QPM, was presented with the ISPA Internet Hero award at a gala dinner in London on 14 March 2008.

 

The Internet Services Providers' Association (ISPA UK) has been organising the UK Internet Industry Awards since 1999 to herald the best of the internet industry and to celebrate innovation and best practice. One of the Special ISPA Awards is the Internet Hero award. The awards ceremony took place in London on Friday 14 March 2008.

 

ISPA Council spokesperson said: "ISPA Council selected Peter as the winner in recognition of his continued leadership of the IWF and approach to fostering extensive partnerships with the Internet industry, the government and law enforcement agencies to tackle illegal online content

 

Peter Robbins OBE, QPM said: “I am truly honoured and very privileged to receive such a prestigious award. ISPA have been an outstanding supporter of ours since they helped to create the IWF in 1996. The relationships IWF enjoy with so many partners in the online sector are based on a shared common purpose in tackling the distribution of indecent images of children and other forms of potentially illegal content within our remit. The UK has every right to feel proud of what has been achieved through a diverse multi-stakeholder, public/private partnership approach.

 

“The speed of technological advance and the international nature of the internet mean we must forever evolve to meet new challenges so the ongoing success of this partnership approach will stand us in good stead for the future.”

 

The other finalists for the Internet Hero category were:

"For respecting peoples’ browsing privacy by retracting the Beacon service, a system which automatically records user’s online spending habits, by making it an opt-in not opt-out service.”

“For keeping a keen eye on the promotional websites of financial services and warning that they are not fair or clear enough. A quarter of 77 sites reviewed "failed to present information in a fair, clear and not misleading way", the FSA said.”

"For leading the push to increase Internet access speeds, paving the way for services such as high-definition Internet TV."

"For a decade of support promoting the Internet in the UK Parliament as chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Internet Group since 1997." 

 

  

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The ISPAs - the UK Internet industry awards - are awarded to people and organisations in the industry by their peers and reflect the broad nature of the service provider sector.

 

The Internet Services Providers' Association (ISPA UK) has been organising the UK Internet Industry Awards since 1999 to herald the best of the Internet industry and to celebrate innovation and best practice. In 2002 the awards were dubbed ‘The ISPAs’.

Each year the event changes to reflect changes in the sector and to represent the ever broadening nature of the service provider sector.

 

The awards categories now fall into one of two divisions - the ISP and Special Awards.

Attended by senior decision makers, Government representatives and the media, The ISPAs are the premiere event for the industry.

Organisations and individuals requesting tickets or further information should in the first instance visit http://www.ispaawards.org.uk.

Organisations interested in sponsoring The ISPAs should telephone 020 7609 1907 or email pressoffice@ispa.org.uk.

 

 

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

 

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

We work in partnership with UK Government departments such as the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 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 a self-regulatory body, funded by the EU and the wider online industry. This includes internet service providers (ISPs), mobile operators and manufacturers, content service providers, telecommunications and filtering companies, search providers and the financial sector as well as blue-chip and other organisations who support us for corporate social responsibility 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 within our remit on their systems and simultaneously inviting the police to investigate the publisher.

 

As a result, less than 1% of potentially illegal content has apparently been hosted in the UK since 2003, down from 18% in 1997.

 

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.

 

Please note that "child pornography", "child porn" or "kiddie porn" are not acceptable terms. The use of such language acts to legitimise images which are not pornography, rather, they are permanent records of children being sexually abused and as such should be referred to as child sexual abuse images.

 

IWF is an incorporated charity, limited by guarantee.

Charity No. 1112398

Tel: +44 (0) 1223 237 700