Child Sexual Abuse Content URL List
The diversity and quality of the services we provide to our members continues to increase. Our child sexual abuse content service developed as an industry-led initiative has gathered pace since 2004.
As a result of work by our analysts, potentially illegal URLs are regularly added to our unique list of online child sexual abuse content. This list is dynamic and comprehensive: updated twice a day. The Protection of Children Act 1978 as amended in the Sexual Offences Act 2003, makes it an offence to take, make, permit to be taken, distribute, show, possess with intent to distribute, and advertise indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children under the age of 18. The ‘making’ of such images includes downloading, that is, making a copy of a child abuse image on a computer, so, in the UK, accessing such content online is a serious criminal offence.
Despite success in almost eradicating this content from UK networks, sexually abusive images of children are still available around the world, so the commitment by our members to voluntarily prevent the accidental download of such content by working to deploy our list on their services has been welcomed in many quarters. Since 2004, many more of our members have chosen to make use of this service, namely, internet service providers, mobile operators, search providers and filtering companies. Law Enforcement Agencies and associated Hotlines who are members of INHOPE can also choose to have access to the list.
This list typically contains between 800 and 1200 live child abuse URLs at any one time. As the URLs are precise websites or web pages the risk of over blocking or collateral damage is minimised.
As a result of this initiative it is possible to:
• Reduce the occasions when innocent internet users might be exposed to traumatic and unlawful images.
• Diminish the re-victimisation of children by restricting opportunities to view their sexual abuse.
• Disrupt the accessibility and supply of such content to those who may seek out such images.
Unfortunately, the blocking mechanism cannot put an end to offenders abusing children or distributing images of child sexual abuse on the internet but at least this initiative contributes to an overall solution.
Our systems and processes in compiling this list have been inspected and validated by two eminent professionals and found to be consistent with best practice. There is a procedure whereby the website owner of any blocked URL has the right of appeal. The URLs are assessed according to UK law, an expert process reinforced by reciprocal police training with each image being categorised in line with criteria set out by the UK Sentencing Advisory Council. Details of every URL with child sexual abuse content are passed with accompanying intelligence to our partners at the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre as well as our Hotline associates around the world.
Blocking facilitated by the use of our list applies only to website content. We have no role or remit for tackling the distribution of child sexual abuse content through other channels such as peer-to-peer or instant messaging.
This link to our frequently asked questions (FAQs) provides further information.
Page Created: Wed, October 26th, 2005
Page Modified: Tue, May 27th, 2008
