New Chair Elected to IWF Funding Council
17 December 2009
Andrew Cormack, Chief Regulatory Adviser, JANET(UK), has been elected as Chair of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) Funding Council.
The IWF is an independent self-regulatory body, funded by the EU and the wider online industry including internet service providers, mobile operators and manufacturers, content service providers, filtering companies, search providers, trade associations and the financial sector. IWF is the UK internet Hotline and works to minimise the availability of potentially illegal internet content specifically, images of child sexual abuse hosted anywhere in the world, criminally obscene content hosted in the UK and incitement to racial hatred content hosted in the UK.
Each industry member nominates a representative to participate in IWF Funding Council affairs in order to contribute to IWF's policy development, budget, and strategic future. With around 100 members, IWF enjoys a significant level of industry backing.
Andrew Cormack, Chair of IWF Funding Council said: "IWF's model of effective self-regulation meets the demands placed upon it by evolving technology, industry growth, and media and public scrutiny. IWF members are committed to the fight against online child sexual abuse content and to maintaining the right balance between freedom and protection on the internet. I look forward to continuing to work with IWF and its members to ensure our online space remains hostile to criminal content and industry's response to the abuse of our networks for the distribution of such content remains robust and responsive.
Andrew has worked for JANET(UK), operator of the UK's national network for education and research, for more than ten years, advising the company and its customers on the security, policy and legal issues of operating network services.
Lee Turner is the recently-elected Vice Chair of the Funding Council. Lee joined the Carphone group three years ago and is currently working within the Industry Liaison team for TalkTalk Technology engaging industry and regulatory bodies on a wide variety of issues covering all aspects of communications.
Self-regulation is the principle on which IWF operations and structures are founded; it is also the preferred method of regulating internet content amongst the government and internet industry in the UK.
The IWF model has been recognised publicly; by the government's Better Regulation Executive in the National Business awards Better Regulation category and for raising industry standards in Nominet's Best Practice Challenge. It is also referenced as a good practice model for self-regulatory bodies by Ofcom.
The IWF model has been recognised publicly; by the government's Better Regulation Executive in the National Business awards Better Regulation category and for raising industry standards in Nominet's Best Practice Challenge. It is also referenced as a good practice model for self-regulatory bodies by Ofcom.
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About Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)
IWF was established in 1996 by the UK internet industry to provide the UK internet Hotline for the public and IT professionals to report potentially illegal online content within our remit and to be the 'notice and take-down' body for this content. We work in partnership with the online industry, law enforcement, government, the education sector, charities, international partners and the public to minimise the availability of this content, specifically, child sexual abuse content hosted anywhere in the world and criminally obscene and incitement to racial hatred content hosted in the UK.
We work with UK government to influence initiatives developed to combat online abuse and this dialogue goes beyond the UK and Europe to ensure greater awareness of global issues, trends and responsibilities. We work internationally with INHOPE and other relevant authorities and organisations to encourage wider adoption of good practice in combating online child sexual abuse content and to promote inclusive and united global responses to this dynamic, cross-border criminality.
We help internet service providers and hosting companies to combat abuse of their networks through our national 'notice and take-down' service which alerts them to potentially illegal content within our remit on their systems and we provide unique data to law enforcement partners in the UK and abroad to assist investigations into the distributers of potentially illegal online content. As a result of this partnership approach, less than 1% of child sexual abuse content, known to the IWF, has apparently been hosted in the UK since 2003, down from 18% in 1997. As sexually abusive images of children are primarily hosted abroad, we facilitate the industry-led initiative to protect users from inadvertent exposure to this content by blocking access to it through our provision of a dynamic list of child sexual abuse URLs.
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. Our self-regulatory partnership approach is widely recognised as a model of good practice in combating the abuse of technology for the dissemination of illegal content.
Please note that "child pornography", "child porn" and "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.
JANET(r) is a registered trademark of the Higher Education Funding Councils for England, Scotland and Wales. The JNT Association is the registered user of this trademark. JANET(UK)(r) is a trademark of the JNT Association.
IWF was established in 1996 by the UK internet industry to provide the UK internet Hotline for the public and IT professionals to report potentially illegal online content within our remit and to be the 'notice and take-down' body for this content. We work in partnership with the online industry, law enforcement, government, the education sector, charities, international partners and the public to minimise the availability of this content, specifically, child sexual abuse content hosted anywhere in the world and criminally obscene and incitement to racial hatred content hosted in the UK.
We work with UK government to influence initiatives developed to combat online abuse and this dialogue goes beyond the UK and Europe to ensure greater awareness of global issues, trends and responsibilities. We work internationally with INHOPE and other relevant authorities and organisations to encourage wider adoption of good practice in combating online child sexual abuse content and to promote inclusive and united global responses to this dynamic, cross-border criminality.
We help internet service providers and hosting companies to combat abuse of their networks through our national 'notice and take-down' service which alerts them to potentially illegal content within our remit on their systems and we provide unique data to law enforcement partners in the UK and abroad to assist investigations into the distributers of potentially illegal online content. As a result of this partnership approach, less than 1% of child sexual abuse content, known to the IWF, has apparently been hosted in the UK since 2003, down from 18% in 1997. As sexually abusive images of children are primarily hosted abroad, we facilitate the industry-led initiative to protect users from inadvertent exposure to this content by blocking access to it through our provision of a dynamic list of child sexual abuse URLs.
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. Our self-regulatory partnership approach is widely recognised as a model of good practice in combating the abuse of technology for the dissemination of illegal content.
Please note that "child pornography", "child porn" and "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.
JANET(r) is a registered trademark of the Higher Education Funding Councils for England, Scotland and Wales. The JNT Association is the registered user of this trademark. JANET(UK)(r) is a trademark of the JNT Association.
