Technology giants and the Government have agreed a new approach to tackling online child abuse images with a beefed-up role for the internet watchdog.
Senior figures from internet, communications and computing firms including Google, Microsoft and BT were summoned to Parliament for a meeting with Culture Secretary Maria Miller to decide what action to take on the issue.
Mrs Miller said they had agreed a “fundamental change” to the way the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) works, with the industry-funded body set to adopt a role actively seeking out and blocking child pornography.
The main UK internet service providers (ISPs) have agreed to provide extra funding for the IWF, understood to amount to £1 million, to help it take on the extra duties.Under current arrangements the IWF only acts on content that has been reported to it rather than proactively seeking out illegal images.
Representatives from Yahoo!, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Facebook, BT, Sky,Virgin Media, TalkTalk, Vodafone, O2, EE and Three were summoned to themeeting.
Mrs Miller told Sky News: “What we have agreed today is a fundamental change in the way the industry will be working to remove illegal child abuse images that are too readily available online.
“It’s important, the work that has been done today, and I think we will see a real change in approach so that now the IWF will be able to seek out those images and that will be an important way of increasing the number of those images that are removed.”
Mrs Miller said there had been “clear pledges for increased funding” for the IWF from the industry.
“The industry is undertaking a review of the resources that are needed to make sure the IWF can take this proactive approach, but even today we were hearing further pledges of £1 million coming from the industry.
“This is important and it’s funding that’s come from the industry to make sure that it’s working effectively to stamp out access to these abhorrent images.”
The Culture Secretary said illegal child abuse images had caused concerns “particularly in recent months”.
Mark Bridger, who killed April Jones, and Stuart Hazell, murderer of Tia Sharp, were both found to have accessed child and violent pornography and some experts argue there is a clear link between their obsessions and their actions.
Mrs Miller, the only mother in the Cabinet, said: “I think any parent or anybody who is a resident in this country wants to see illegal child abuse images dealt with, and dealt with swiftly.
“What we have been focusing on today is making sure that the IWF can do that … and, absolutely, as a mother of three I’m going to make sure that the work that’s going on is effective. Every parent in this country wants to make sure that their children cannot get access to these sorts of illegal sites.”