Awareness Activites
Hotline.ie works for safer Internet at home and abroad
While Hotline.ie runs various events and obtains media engagement to promote safer Internet practices in Ireland the organisation is also involved in a number of key International forums with the aim of improving systems and procedures to counter illegal content on the Internet.
The home front
The Hotline maintains a high profile with the general public and runs visibility events to promote Internet safety
issues.
These events are used to emphasise the points that the Hotline is the effective first line of defence
against illegal activity online and the importance of making reports to combat the prevalence of such illegal
content. It also connects with the media and, throughout 2009 the Hotline General Manager Paul Durrant gave
numerous TV, radio and press interviews. A number of INHOPE courses were hosted in Ireland in 2009 and one of
Hotline.ie’s Content Analyst having a long news media background shared his knowledge with other
INHOPE hotlines from around the world on how to organise press conferences and write press releases.
The Home Front contd.
During 2009, often through referrals from the Office for Internet safety, Hotline.ie provided support and speakers
for events run by educational organisations, industry associations, youth groups and child welfare organisations.
These included a presentation for ISPCC representatives where General Manager Paul Durrant
discussed the advantages
of pursuing improvements in international notice and take-down protocols and whether the much discussed blocking
of websites having been found to contain illegal content was an effective or illusionary solution. Hotline.ie also
ran training sessions to Parentline and ISPCC volunteers on how helplines may assist callers if they are concerned
about child safety issues on the Internet.
In February Hotline.ie promoted Safer Internet Day 2009 on the Website and the staff supported the event run by
the Safer Internet Ireland project coodinated by the Office for Internet Safey. The Hotline staff also ran seminars on Hotline activities for ISPAI
members and regularly brief the Advisory Coucil to the Office for Internet Safety on Hotline activities.
A Hotline Content Analyst gave a presentation to Foroige youth club workers and parents in Co Meath. The Hotline
was represented at the following events - an Internet Safely Advisory Council where Google outlined child
protection systems on YouTube, Search etc.; the Bernardo’s annual meeting and the launch by the Minister for
Education and Science, Batt O’Keeffe, T.D., of the Safer Internet Ireland Youth Advisory Panel.
Hotline promoting Internet Safety Abroad
The Hotline kept up with the latest international developments that can both enhance the performance of hotlines around the world as well as adding to the efficiency of the INHOPE network. The Hotline General Manager attended the INHOPE Law Enforcement Conference in Helsinki with Hotline.ie guest Det. Sgt. Michael Lynch of An Garda Síochána Paedophile Investigation Unit. The aim of the conference was to identify issues to improve international cooperation on dealing with illegal content on the Internet.
The European Commission has established the Safer Internet Focus Group to bring together experts from various stakeholder groups to advise on areas which the Commission may focus efforts to improve Internet Safety. The Hotline.ie General Manager is a memebr of this group and attend two meetings held in Luxembourg. These largely focused on the merits of various initiatives both techncial and procedural to combat the distribution of child pornography on the Internet in light of resources, comparitive costs and technical effectiveness.
The Hotline also brings its expertise to groups examining related issues where the Internet is being misused to support illegal content and activities. The General Manager and Content Analysts have taken part in two internatinal seminars held in Dublin organised by the Institute of International and European Affairs (ILEA) which examined "non-legislative measures" that might be taken to combat "radicalisation" and "terrorist support" on the Internet. In Paris Paul Durrant attended a meeting organised by the European Financial Coalition to examine technical measures that may be applied to disrupt the distribution of commercial child pornography.
The ISPAI Hotline underlines its strong belief that all relevant agencies both nationally and internationally must collaborate and share expertise if society is to successfully combat the use of the Internet by those that sexually exploit children and so work to provide a safer Internet environment for all.
