The proliferation of child abuse images creates demand for further children to be abused and re-victimises those who have already been abused. The IWF plays a central role in helping to prevent the spread of these images and in deterring individuals from accessing them. The partnership between the IWF, CEOP and the wider police service ensures that not only is tactical intelligence acted on quickly and efficiently but that our knowledge about the nature and scale of the problem is shared, improving our joint response
Peter Davies, Chief Executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre

Laws Relating to the IWF's Remit

The Internet Watch Foundation’s remit covers three types of internet content:

Child sexual abuse content* hosted anywhere in the world
Criminally obscene adult, including extreme pornography, content hosted in the UK
Non-photographic child sexual abuse images hosted in the UK

Legislation relating to child sexual abuse content

The IWF assesses child sexual abuse images according to levels set by the Sentencing Guidelines Council.

Click here for the Crown Prosecution Service's guidance on indecent photographs of children Opens in New Window .

Legislation relating to criminally obscene adult content

Click here for the Crown Prosecution Service's guidance on obscene publications Opens in New Window .
Click here for the Crown Prosecution Service's guidance on extreme pornography .

Legislation relating to non-photographic child sexual abuse images

Coroners and Justice Act 2009

Directive applicable to the liability of Internet Service Providers

Directive 2000/31/EC (Liability of Intermediary Service Providers)