Overview
It is an offence to take, permit to be taken, make, possess, show, distribute or advertise indecent images of children in the United Kingdom, in accordance with the Protection of Children Act 1978.
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 (SOA 2003), came into force on the 1st May 2004 and amends parts of the Protection of Children Act 1978. The two sections of the Act which are specfically relevant for organisations are Section 45 and Section 46.
Section 46 allows a conditional defence for relevant personnel within organisations and enterprises to 'make' a copy of an illegal image of a child in order to forward to a relevant authority if he can prove that it was necessary for him to do so for the purposes of the prevention, detection or investigation of crime, or for the purposes of criminal proceedings.
A complete version of the SOA 2003 is available here and an overview from the Home Office is available here.
The Act introduces new measures that will help the public have confidence in the Criminal Justice System and enable the criminal justice system to put victims first. Part 1 of the Act modernises nineteenth century offences and plugs loopholes in the law. Part 2 deals with sex offenders.
The Memorandum of Understanding
The aim of this memorandum is to help clarify the position of those professionally involved in the management, operation or use of electronic communications networks and services who may face jeopardy for criminal offences so that they will be re-assured of protection where they are acting to combat the creation and distribution of images of child abuse.
Page Created: Fri, April 22nd, 2005
Page Modified: Wed, August 9th, 2006
