It’s vital to help defend young people online and give the survivors of childhood sexual abuse peace of mind.
We send Takedown Notices in partnership with the police to make sure evidence is preserved and their investigations aren't compromised. Our analysts know that evidence is important, it could even lead to the rescue of a child. In the battle to defend children online, the tech companies that employ IWF Takedown Notices to protect their systems are on the front line.
In the UK today, the networks of hosting providers who use IWF Takedown Notices are less likely to be infected with this type of imagery. We’re helping them make it difficult for offenders to host, share or even sell criminal images of children being brutally sexually abused on their networks.
By joining IWF’s battle to protect young people on the internet, companies are doing the right thing. They are part of the fight to defend children, their customers, the regulators and the UK Government. They’re demonstrating a true commitment to making the UK the safest place in the world to go online.
As the global battle to put an end to this horrendous crime intensifies, governments are responding by bringing in legal regulation and mandatory reporting. This means the IWF services are more fundamental than ever.
Who can use it?
We send our Takedown Notices to all UK Member hosting companies, including:
- Hosting providers
- Online/cloud storage or backup companies
- Social networking companies
- Companies that enable user generated content
What happens if a company or the criminal imagery is outside the UK?
We work with international partners which means we can ask for the removal of imagery hosted online anywhere in the world. These allies include INHOPE and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). We notify our partners about the criminal imagery we’ve identified and they contact the hosting company and/or law enforcement to make sure it’s removed.
Member companies that host in the United States can sign-up for our Simultaneous Alert.
There are a number of other tools and services Members can utilise to prevent access to child sexual abuse material on their services.
What if the police are investigating the hosted imagery?
We send Takedown Notices in partnership with the police to make sure evidence is preserved and their investigations aren’t compromised.
