Public Interest Registry Joins Forces with the IWF to Make the Internet a Safer Place

Hello IWF community! We at Public Interest Registry are excited to work alongside the IWF as one of IWF’s newest members. We know our partnership will allow us to deepen our commitment to keeping the internet safe and secure – in this case through the elimination of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on the .org domain and beyond. 

Who We Are
Public Interest Registry operates the .org domain – the world's third largest "generic" top-level domain – which accounts for a significant proportion of today’s web traffic representing more than 10 million websites globally. We’re a non-profit organisation created by the Internet Society (ISOC), originally to manage .org. Today, we serve the global community through management of the .org, .ngo, .ong and  Internationalized Domain Names (domain names in native non-ASCII scripts such as .机构 and .संगठन).

As our name implies, Public Interest Registry’s main goal is to serve the public interest online. That mission is aided significantly by the work of IWF, making the internet and .org safer places by working tirelessly to address CSAM online. 

A Valuable Partnership
IWF’s mission matches our own– to keep the internet safe for users, which is what encouraged us to pursue this partnership. Through our IWF membership, our efforts to cultivate a safe and secure .org domain will be amplified, as IWF provides expertise and efficiency in finding and eliminating CSAM on the internet.

Our Anti-Abuse Policy is dedicated almost exclusively to the remediation of technical abuse of the Domain Name System and that policy does not cover the content of the website. The exception to that rule is for CSAM. Public Interest Registry made the decision long ago that we must act to remove CSAM, in order to serve the public good. Working with IWF is the natural extension of that principle and we firmly believe it is the right thing to do. 

In particular, our IWF membership will allow us to proactively identify and remove CSAM on any .org domain. By tapping IWF’s team of expert analysts, its advanced technology and specialized approach, we can better serve the public interest through more efficient and removal of CSAM. Through our membership we’re proud to protect more internet users and help expand IWF’s reach across the internet.

Public Interest Registry is pleased to have launched a CSAM referral discussion group for registries and registrars to evolve and streamline the way the domain name industry addresses CSAM. 

The internet is a powerful place that can connect users. For the .org domain specifically, the internet allows non-profit, non-governmental organisations and other users committed to positive change, to build community around their passion areas and missions. Ensuring that CSAM has no place in that landscape is critically important to Public Interest Registry. 

We are grateful to IWF for the great work they do and look forward to the good we can accomplish together for the protection of children online.