An independent, self regulated body, which is funded by the EU has set itself the enormous task of making the internet safer for the user.
The regulatory body assesses potentially illegal sites according to UK law, which states that it is a public offense to take, distribute or show indecent pictures of children under the age of 18. Those deemed to be illegal are added to a list, which is sent to companies that have committed themselves to removing unacceptable material from the internet. The regulatory body say that any number of sites can feature on the ‘black list’ and it is updated twice a day. The IWF (internet watch foundation) will not notify the site owner that their site is listed however it does accept appeals if anyone did want to contest the decision against them.
IWF members include, Sky, Virgin Media, AOL, Talk Talk and PlusNet. The foundation also operates a hotline for people who are concerned with websites that they have discovered and are concerned about.
The reports received by the IWF are assessed by Internet Content Analysts who have comprehensive and in-depth training on relevant UK legislation regarding material on the internet. The most shocking thing is that there hasn’t been a company such as the IWF set up before hand. Harmful content on the net has been around for years and it is about time that something was done about it. The trouble is that the Internet is so hard to track down. The internet has created a cyber society where people are practically untraceable.