Internet Watch Foundation

If you have a suggestion for additional Media FAQs please email the Media Office.

 

 

Q: What exactly is the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and what does it do?

A: The IWF is an independent incorporated charity, limited by guarantee. We work in partnership with the Government, Police and Internet industry to minimise the availability of illegal content online; with specific reference to images of child abuse.

 

When we say partnership, we mean that we work directly with these agencies and organisations to actually develop policies, projects & initiatives as well as practical mechanisms & procedures designed to prevent the availability of illegal online content to UK consumers.

 

How do we do this?

The IWF operates a free internet hotline for the general public to report instances of exposure to illegal content online and is the only authorised organisation in the UK to do so.

We also provide a 'notice and take down' service for UK ISPs which notifies them of any illegal content found on their servers. That means there is virtually no illegal content hosted in the UK.

For other Member information and industry services please click here.

 

For more information on our role, remit and structure see About the IWF.

 

Q: I thought you were an internet safety organisation?

A: We are not an internet safety organisation in the sense that we have not been set up to give advice to children or other individuals specifically on 'safe surfing'. However, we aim to contribute to making the internet a safer place by minimising the availability and therefore, risk of exposure to illegal content.

 

We do offer practical guidance on how to prevent accidental exposure to the type of internet content which falls within our remit.

 

Some non-remit queries will be covered in our general FAQs. We also offer a 'signposting' facility giving links to safe surfing websites in our 'Protecting Yourself Online' section.

 

The IWF is not a children's charity or a children's internet safety organisation, however we do work closely with many of those types of organisations in the UK with the common aim of fostering trust and reassurance in the internet for current and future users.

 

Q: When was the IWF founded and by whom?

A: The IWF was created as a self or co-regulatory body in 1996, following an agreement between the government, police and the internet service provider industry. Click here for more information on the background of the IWF.

 

Q: So you're not a statutory or Government body and you're not a regulator, so who funds you and who regulates you?

A: We are funded in part by the EU and also by the internet industry in the form of annual subscriptions.

 

These subscriptions are voluntary and this support has evolved from the initial idea of self-regulation of illegal internet content, into an extremely successful model involving co-operation from many different types of organisations in the UK.

 

We are governed by an independent Board. See Governance for more information.

 

Q: What DOESN'T the IWF deal with?

A: The role and remit of the IWF is very specific, because we operate strictly within the UK law and deal only with online content, not online crimes or suspects.

 

We often receive reports outside our remit, due to the lack of other recognised organisations for the public to turn to.

 

To clarify, unless it is, claims to be or refers to, potentially illegal content, we do not actually deal with:

 

Q: Why don't you deal with all internet issues?

A: We don't have the capacity, authority or legislative framework to deal with all problems pertaining to the internet or even internet content. For example; we could not assess content and ask for it be removed, based on personal opinion. What one person may find offensive, another may not.

 

Q: What are illegal 'child abuse' images?

A: Any images of a child under the age of 18 in a sexually provocative or sexually explicit pose or action.

 

Q: How do the IWF assess child abuse images?

A: We receive reports via the internet hotline which contain references to websites, newsgroups, images or an online location.

Our specially trained Internet Content Analysts (ICA's) assess the content against a set of levels or grades which reflects the gravity of the images. Level 1 being the least severe, Level 5 being the very worst.

 

Q: Why don't you use the term 'Child Pornography' or 'Child Porn'?

A: Whilst we realise that this terminology appears to be clearly understood by most people and used a lot in media headlines, we generally find these terms inappropriate as 'pornography' implies consent and refers to explicit, but legal, images of adults.

Illegal, indecent images of children are in no way the same. They are non-consensual and show real sexual abuse.

 

Q: Is what you are doing censorship?

A: Illegal content is just that - illegal. Just viewing child abuse images can carry up to 10 years imprisonment in the UK.

The IWF doesn't actually create, post, host, physically take down, control or 'censor' any web content.

 

We receive reports, we assess content and judge legality and then we notify the relevant parties when appropriate; whether that is another hotline, a UK ISP or a law enforcement agency.

 

 

A: The abuse of new technology which allows access to internet content, such as mobile devices and the continually developing services which offer online content as well as MMS & picture creation & storage