Published: Wed 12 Jun 2013
Google is donating £1million to the Internet Watch Foundation to boost its work removing online child sexual abuse content.
The substantial sum – almost the equivalent of a whole year’s running costs for the IWF – will more than double the team of Internet Content Analysts, from four and a half to nine and a half.
The £1million donation will be spread over four years.
Susie Hargreaves, IWF CEO said: “This is an incredibly generous donation and Google is demonstrating moral leadership in the field. This contribution will significantly boost our work to meet our vision eliminating online child sexual abuse content. We are experts at doing this and like any organisation we can do more, with more resource.
“We’ve been talking to Google about how we can do more together. This donation will directly fund additional skilled analysts who are the forefront of tackling some of the most horrendous content on the internet.
“The IWF’s work isn’t just about removing the content. Over the past two years we have helped identify and aid the rescue of 12 children from their abusers by working with the police in the UK and internationally.
“This donation will directly benefit all online users, including those victims of sexual abuse who have not only suffered an horrific crime but have had the evidence shared online.”
Scott Rubin, Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Google, said: “We have a zero-tolerance policy on child sexual abuse content. The IWF are essential partners in our fight to rid the Internet of this illegal material by providing us with lists of web pages that we block from search results. Our donation should help them do their work more quickly and efficiently. This grant is part of a broader package of measures we are putting in place with other international agencies to help tackle this problem at a global scale.”
The IWF is already the most effective Hotline in the world at removing child sexual abuse content and it is one of the best funded.
Its expertise spreads internationally. The IWF has expedited the removal of child sexual abuse content hosted abroad. On the rare occasion it is hosted in the UK, it takes typically 60 minutes for the criminal images to be removed.
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The IWF is a charity and a UK self-regulatory body. Visit www.iwf.org.uk for more details.
Contact:
Emma Lowther, IWF Director of External Relations, on +44 (0) 1223 203030 or +44 (0)7929 553 679.
[email protected]
About the Internet Watch Foundation
The IWF was established in 1996 by the internet industry to report criminal online content in a secure and confidential way. The Hotline service can be used anonymously to report:
child sexual abuse content hosted anywhere in the world;
criminally obscene adult content hosted in the UK;
non-photographic child sexual abuse images hosted in the UK.
For more information please visit www.iwf.org.uk.
IWF on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/internetwatchfoundation Opens in New Window
IWF on Twitter: www.twitter.com/IWFhotline Opens in New Window
About Internet Watch Foundation membership
IWF Members have access to a range of services designed to combat online child sexual abuse images and videos. These services help reduce the ability of criminals to exploit legitimate services and speed up the removal of child sexual abuse content hosted anywhere in the world.
The IWF and its Member organisations are committed to the shared vision of an internet free of child sexual abuse content.
For information about becoming a member of the IWF please visit www.iwf.org.uk/join-us or email: [email protected].
Local MP Ian Sollom learned about the herculean task faced by analysts at the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) who find, assess and remove child sexual abuse material on the internet.
