IWF Launches Campaign to Crackdown on Indecent Images of Children at Work
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has today launched its ‘Wipe it Out’ campaign to stamp out the downloading and distribution of indecent images of children in the workplace. The initiative comes on the back of alarming research conducted by the IWF which shows that 74 per cent of companies surveyed would not report employees caught downloading indecent images of children to the police. The survey of 200, UK IT managers also found that nearly 40 per cent of companies would not even take steps to discipline or dismiss such an employee.
“These results are shocking - the workplace is where a majority of people have access to the internet. It is essential that employees that monitor companies’ networks are aware of what guidelines they should take if they come across a potentially illegal image.
However, the research has confirmed our expectations that a majority of IT managers are in fact uninformed of the correct procedure to follow, rather than being unwilling to sit up and act.
This is supported by the fact that 38 per cent of IT managers questioned wouldn’t do anything or wouldn’t know what do if they caught an employee downloading illegal images of children,” explained Peter Robbins, CEO, IWF.
In order to encourage employers to take action, the law was recently changed to empower IT managers to combat illegal images found on their servers or on employee’s electronic devices. The Sexual Offences Act (SOA) 2003 came in to force in May 2004 and section 46 of this Act amends part of the Protection of Children Act (PCA) 1978.
Even though the legislation has been in place for a year this May, this latest research has revealed that 80 per cent of IT managers are still not aware of the amendments to the Act and how the legislation relates to them or their organisation.
Section 46 of The Sexual Offences Act 2003, now provides a conditional defence which protects IT professionals who, in their day-to-day management of electronic networks and services, may need to make or download and then store potentially indecent images of children as evidence, in order for the content to be assessed by a named ‘relevant’ body either a law enforcement agency or the IWF.
“The research highlights that it is vital that any organisation providing internet access to employees understands how to deal with these types of images.
Their policies must be in line with current UK legislation and internal procedures should be clearly explained to staff, including consequences for transgression. Once an appropriate Acceptable Internet Use Policy is in place, we believe that IT managers will have no hesitation in reporting their findings to the police or a law enforcement agency.” continued Robbins.
The IWF is the only organisation in the UK, which provides an internet hotline for the public to report their exposure to potentially illegal content online. The service is conducted online via the IWF website, www.iwf.org.uk and includes step by step instructions and the option to submit a report anonymously. The IWF Internet Content Analysts are specially trained by the Police to assess potentially illegal internet content according to the UK law. The hotline team liaise closely with the relevant Law Enforcement Agencies in the UK and overseas, as well as foreign hotlines around the world, to trace illegal online content.
The IWF will be launching its ‘Wipe it Out’ campaign to raise awareness amongst IT, HR, Legal & Regulatory managers about the change in legislation and how it relates to them and their organisation. To support the campaign, it will be distributing literature and its best practice guidelines to over 3,000 IT managers in the UK. In addition to this, the IWF will also be holding a conference in central London for Senior Managers on 15th June 2005. The event will be hosted by IWF and will include presentations by key industry speakers. If you require further information regarding the campaign and/or the forthcoming conference, please contact: Jessica Helyer, 0207 608 4621 or Jessica.helyer@hotwirepr.com.
Created: Mon, May 9th, 2005 | Last Modified: Fri, July 15th, 2005
