§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he has taken to raise public awareness of the role of the Internet Watch Foundation to investigate alleged pornographic materials; and if he will make a statement. [107573]
§ Ms HewittThe Government are continuing to support the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), and both Alex Allan, the e-envoy, and I attended its recent re-launch.
Following a recommendation in a recent report, "Review of the Internet Watch Foundation", the IWF is currently pressing Internet Service Providers to put links to the IWF on their sites, in order to make it more visible and accessible to their users. The Government are also working at a European level to promote the work that the IWF has done as a model for the rest of the world.
§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the progress made by the Internet Watch Foundation in implementing the recommendations of the Department of Trade and Industry/Home Office report entitled Review of the Internet Watch Foundation. [107572]
§ Ms HewittThe Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has made good progress towards implementing the report's recommendations. Its organisational structure has been revised, as the new chair, Roger Darlington, announced at the IWF re-launch on 25 January. As part of the extended remit announced at the relaunch, the IWF has undertaken a review of the resources required for the hotlines, and extended its work to cover racism on the internet. It is also continuing to participate in developing content filtering and labelling schemes.