5th Report of the ISPAI www.hotline.ie Service - 1st January to 31st December 2007
The aim of the Hotline is to combat illegal content, especially child pornography, existing on the Internet. It is funded and operated by the Internet Service Providers Association of Ireland (ISPAI). It is the critical element through which the Irish ISP industry plays its part in global efforts to generate a safer Internet environment. During the reporting period the Hotline received funding for 50% of its operational costs from the European Commission’s Safer Internet Plus Programme.
The Hotline provides a secure and confidential service for the public to anonymously report content they have encountered on the Internet and suspect may be illegal. The Hotline works within the growing network of INHOPE member Hotlines currently represented in 27 countries around the world. Through the INHOPE network Hotlines can rapidly exchange information about illegal content so swift action can be taken in the appropriate jurisdiction.
The Hotline completed its eigth year of operation in November 2007 and by the end of that year it had processed 12,836 reports. Averaged over the eight years, approximately 18 percent of all reports received were assessed as illegal and forwarded to relevant jurisdictions for action to be taken.
This online publication provides an overview of the reports received and actions taken by the Hotline in the period 1st January to 31st December 2007. The report provides statistical analyses of the findings and highlights the trends now being observed with comparisons to previous years. This analysis provides some insight in to the reality of the "downside" of the Internet as encountered and reported by the Irish Internet using public.
The Hotline's procedures are overseen by the Government's Internet Advisory Board (IAB). In the autumn of 2007 the Minister for Justice announced that the function of the IAB was being upgraded with a new focused unit of his Department to be known as the Office for Internet Safety.
To browse the detail of this report please go to the INTRODUCTION
