Introduction > ISPAI Report Introduction
ISPAI Introduction to 5th Report
I am pleased to introduce the 5th report of the www.hotline.ie service, as it presents the work which has been quietly but persistently carried out over the last year to fight illegal content on the Internet with the intention of making it a safer environment for all. This is paid for by contributions from the responsible members of the ISP industry that make up the Internet Service Providers Association of Ireland (ISPAI).
As discussed in the report, Internet usage in Ireland has grown phenomenally over the last couple of years. It is now a public space that is used by people from all walks of life for all manner of purposes, from buying the groceries to keeping in touch with friends whether they live around the corner or on the far side of the Earth. It has especially become a favourite of children who learn to use it proficiently through fun and entertainment yet benefit from it as a rich source of information for schoolwork. It is vital that parents and teachers can feel comfortable about encouraging children to use the Internet as its use has become a life skill they will need for their future.
Unfortunately, criminals follow the trends of society and have moved online too. Of late the news media have increasingly reported the "new phenomena" of financial scams, online paedophile approaches to children and court cases where people were found to have downloaded child pornography from the Internet. It therefore surprises many people to discover that this was foreseen by Government and Industry and in fact the Hotline, set up to tackle these issues, has been in operation since November 1999.
It is very important that the industry that supplies the Internet service, while promoting all its positive uses and benefits, continues to contribute to deterring its unlawful use. I look forward to celebrating the Hotline's 10th anniversary next year with many more of the new Internet Service Providers that have sprung up around the country joining the 22 who were members in 2007.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation of the Hotline Analysts, both in www.hotline.ie and in other INHOPE member Hotlines around the world, who are exposed every day to the most harrowing material which they trace and notify to law enforcement in the appropriate jurisdiction. Without their resilience and dedication the Internet would contain considerably more illegal content than the miniscule proportion currently estimated to exist.
I would like to thank Brian Lenihan T.D., Minister of Justice, Equality and Law Reform who has been unfaltering in his support of the Hotline over the reporting period. Also my thanks go to An Garda Síochána who back the Hotline concept and who relay the reports regarding illegal content to countries where no INHOPE Hotline exists. I must also mention the Members of the Internet Advisory Board, the European Commission's Safer Internet Programme and particularly the member companies of the ISPAI whose continued support has enabled www.hotline.ie to work successfully throughout 2007.
PAUL DURRANT
General Manager
ISPAI www.hotline.ie Service
February 2008
