IWF finalist in Nominet Internet Awards 2013

We are delighted to announce the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) is a finalist in the Nominet Internet Awards 2013, nominated in the Making the internet a safer place category.

The IWF has been shortlisted for its work in combating online child sexual abuse images and videos.

Susie Hargreaves, IWF Chief Executive, said: “We aim to work with integrity, strive for excellence and focus on what the future holds in meeting the needs of a rapidly changing environment. We continue to place our Members at the heart of everything we do and we are particularly grateful for the support they give. Our effective partnership with the internet industry is seen as a model of good practice around the world and being a finalist in the Nominet Internet Awards 2013 will help to further strengthen and enhance our reputation. This is a tribute to all the staff and the companies that fund our work.”

Lesley Cowley, CEO of Nominet, said:  “Once again the Nominet Internet Awards nominees represent the diversity of online innovation found in the UK. From online safety and awareness through to innovative new public services, the last twelve months has seen a number of strides across a wide range of sectors focussed on making the internet an even greater source of economic and social good for all.  In an environment where the internet doesn’t always get good press, the awards have uncovered some shining examples of the positive impact the internet is having around the UK.”

The IWF recently announced that 100,000 child sexual abuse webpages have been actioned thanks to the work of the IWF and in the past two years 12 children have been rescued from their abusers as a direct result of IWF actions.

The IWF was formed in 1996 with the aim of eliminating online child sexual abuse content. In 1996, before the IWF was established, the UK hosted around 18% of the known child sexual abuse content. Since 2003, the IWF, working with the online industry, has reduced this to less than 1%.

The IWF is the UK Hotline for anyone to report this content. IWF Analysts assess each report made to the Hotline against UK law. If a webpage contains child sexual abuse content, it is traced to determine the country hosting the content. If it’s hosted in the UK, the IWF issues a notice to the hosting provider who then removes the content, typically within one hour. If it’s hosted abroad, the details are sent to the corresponding Hotline in the host country, via INHOPE (the Association of Internet Hotlines). If no such Hotline exists in that country, the IWF works with the relevant police service in order to get the content removed.

The Nominet Internet Awards celebrate the achievements and innovation of UK internet initiatives. Now in their seventh year, the annual awards aim to showcase projects which help to make the internet a more secure, open, accessible and diverse experience for all.

A panel of judges are due to select the winners, which will be announced at an awards ceremony on Thursday 4th July at The British Library, hosted by technology journalist Kate Russell.

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For more information, or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Emma Lowther, Director of Communications on +44 (0) 1223 20 30 30 or +44 (0) 7929 55 36 79 or [email protected]

About the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)
The IWF was established in 1996 by the internet industry to provide the UK internet Hotline for the public and IT professionals to report criminal online content in a secure and confidential way. The Hotline service can be used anonymously to report content within our remit:

    child sexual abuse images hosted anywhere in the world;
    criminally obscene adult content hosted in the UK;
    non-photographic child sexual abuse images hosted in the UK.

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The IWF is a self-regulatory body with charitable status. It is part of the UK Safer Internet Centre.

UK Safer Internet Centre
The UK Safer Internet Centre comprises Childnet International which works with others to “help make the internet a great and safe place for children”; South West Grid for Learning which provides safety advice for professionals working with young people in the UK and the IWF Hotline for reporting online criminal content. For more information visit www.saferinternet.org.uk

About Nominet

Domain names are one of the key building blocks of the internet – an essential component of every email address and website. Millions of businesses and consumers now depend on Nominet’s services, which underpin a critical part of the UK Internet economy.

Nominet is a private, not-for-profit business, responsible for the smooth and secure running of the .uk internet infrastructure.  We have over 2,800 members and are committed to acting in the public interest.

With the proceeds of our successful registry business, we set up and support the Nominet Trust, an independent charitable foundation focussed on increasing access, safety and education on internet issues.

As part of our commitment to making the internet a more trusted space, we have also developed an information and advice portal - www.knowthenet.org.uk - which helps internet users to get the most of being online by staying safe, legal, and informed.