International Network
Hotline.ie: part of global war on child abuse images
Those who create and distribute child pornography use the vast global entity which is the Internet to pursue their nefarious
activities. National action alone can not be effective in this global environment. To overcome national limitations the
Hotline acts on world stage through its membership of INHOPE (International Association of Internet Hotlines), and
its co-operation with international law enforcement agencies through An Garda Síochána. INHOPE which was
established in 1999 co-ordinates the work of the various hotlines in responding to illegal content on the Internet.
The exchange of reports is facilitated by a good working relationship between hotlines who share a mutual trust
built on INHOPE’s rigorous hotline approval process. INHOPE celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2009.
The international hotlines are recognised by their governments and operate to best practices developed by the INHOPE network. Members act against the hosting and distribution of child abuse images on the Internet irrespective of the originating jurisdiction. Through INHOPE, details of illegal content discovered by a hotline in one country can be swiftly forwarded for action to another member country’s hotline. The effectiveness of INHOPE to Ireland was highlighted this year when the Hotline had its first absolutely confirmed report of a child pornography website in this country. The site’s content was removed from public assess within five hours of the Hotline receiving the report through the INHOPE network from the UK Hotline, the International Watch Foundation (IWF).
Hotline.ie within the INHOPE network
INHOPE holds two General Assembly meetings per year.
The first one held in Luxembourg at the European Commission’s Jean Monnet Building in May saw three new hotlines,
two from Russia and one from South Africa, join the INHOPE network of international hotlines. This brought the
expansion of the network to 36 Hotlines in 31 countries around the globe. At a special session INHOPE welcomed
the three new Members − the Film Publication Board (FPB) from South Africa, the Friendly Runet Foundation and the
National Internet-Safety Node in Russia and commended their joining the network in the fight to stop the
dissemination of illegal content. Richard Swetenham head of the Safer Internet Programme at the European Commission
commented, "I am delighted that new Hotlines from Russia and South Africa have joined the INHOPE Association.
Fighting the distribution of child abuse images is a global task. Hotlines make a significant contribution to this.
It is an important step forward, extending INHOPE's geographical coverage in Europe and, for the first time, in
Africa."
Hotline.ie within the INHOPE network, cont.
Hotline.ie representatives attended the next assembly which was also the tenth anniversary of INHOPE, and was
held in Brussels in November. Ruben Rodriguez, President of INHOPE and Director of International Relations, with
the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) opened the meeting pointing to
"the great strides" the organisation has taken in the last few years. He said: "We have grown to
36 Hotlines from 31 different countries both in Europe and around the world. We have dramatically increased our
outreach to industry and to law enforcement enabling us to develop collaborative projects and initiatives which
in turn have increased our ability to remove child sex abuse images from the Internet". During the
conference a second Czech hotline, CZI, was admitted as a provisional member. The Luxembourg Lisa hotline
was granted full membership.
The Safer Internet Programme of the European Commission has been instrumental in supporting the development of the hotline network and has funded INHOPE since 2000.
