Offences Against Children: Internet
Dan Norris MP: To ask the Secretary of State for
the Home Department what recent steps the Government have taken in
co-operation with its international counterparts to encourage the
closure of overseas-hosted websites which contain images of child abuse.
[251831]
Alan Campbell MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State responsible for crime reduction:
The UK is firmly behind efforts to spread the use of blocking
internationally, but that it is only one in a whole range of tactics
that need to be deployed to tackle the issue of child sexual abuse where
technology is a factor. There is a range of activity that either the UK
leads, or is part of, across a spectrum of international political and
law enforcement arenas which all work towards: the identification and
safeguarding of victims of sexual abuse; locating and apprehending the
perpetrators behind their abuse; and tackling those who profit from the
sale or distribution of the images from that abuse.
Margaret Moran MP: To ask the Secretary of State
for the Home Department when she plans to ensure that 100 per cent. of
internet service providers demonstrate their use of filters against
child pornography; what timetable she has set for achieving this
objective; and if she will make a statement. [250875]
Mr. Campbell MP: In 2006 the Government stated
that they wished to see 100 per cent. of consumer broadband connections
covered by blocking, which include child sexual abuse images, by the end
of 2007. Currently in the UK 95 per cent. of consumer broadband
connections are covered by blocking. The Government are currently
looking at ways to progress the final 5 per cent.
Source: Hansard 3 February 2009
