Tackling Child Pornography on the Internet
The other major cornerstone of the self–regulatory system in Ireland is the provision of a mechanism for members of the public to report suspected instances of child pornography they may come across on the Internet. In Ireland the system is known as Hotline.ie.
Established in 1999, the Hotline provides a secure and confidential service for the public to anonymously report content they encounter on the Internet that they suspect may be illegal. Once reported, the material is assessed by Hotline Staff and, if considered to be probably illegal, steps are taken to instigate its removal from the internet. The primary focus of the Hotline is to combat Child Pornography. Other forms of illegal content and activities exist on the Internet and may be reported using this service.
The Hotline is funded by the
Internet Service Providers Industry Association of Ireland with support from the
EU Safer Internet Programme. Ireland’s participation in the EU Safer Internet Programme is coordinated by the Office for Internet Safety.
To provide a fast response to illegal material that is hosted outside the Irish jurisdiction, the Hotline is a member of INHOPE, the international organisation of Internet Hotlines. The
INHOPE organisation applies rigorous standards to which its members must adhere. These are provided in the INHOPE Code of Practice to which the Hotline has signed up. While
Hotline.ie can accept reports other than Child Pornography, not all INHOPE hotlines are permitted to do so. This may result in some cases where the Hotline can not forward reports of illegal content that is located outside of this jurisdiction.
Click here for a full list of INHOPE Members.
In its
Annual Report 2010 covering the period January to December 2009 it was reported that for the first time in the Hotline’s ten year history an absolutely confirmed assessment and location of illegal CP content hosted in Ireland was made by Hotline.ie analysts. However thanks to the effectiveness of the Hotline procedures, the efficiency of the INHOPE (International Association of Internet Hotlines) network and the rapid response by the Gardaí, the illegal content was removed within four hours of the report being received by the Hotline.
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