ISPs told to step up child porn crackdown

Commenting yesterday on the first annual report of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), a Government sponsored watchdog, Minister for Industry Barbara Roche said that measures taken so far by ISPs are having an impact.

Over 2,000 items have been removed from UK Web servers as a result of the IWF's hotline, set up almost a year ago. Eighty five per cent of complaints received by the hotline focused on child pornography. A further 200 complaints relating to sites created outside the UK have been referred by the IWF to the relevant countries' authorities.

Roche warned that further action would be required, in the face of evidence of a still widespread problem. She said "We are not complacent, and recognise the need for further progress to be made. The partnership between Government and ISPs is not a soft option, but backed by the full force of the law."

While the IWF has made child pornography its most urgent priority, it is set to target adult pornography, racist material and breaches of copyright.

The IWF is also working on an international rating system for legal Web content to allow users to avoid seeing material they might find offensive, and prevent their children from seeing it.