LONDON -- The British government praised an Internet service providers' association for its efforts in dealing with child porn, following the first independent review of so-called industry self-regulation in this country.
The report, Child Pornography on the Internet, lauded the Internet Watch Foundation, an industry group that many consider a model of successful self regulation. The document was released Wednesday by independent consultants KPMG and Dentin Hall.
"The report shows that the IWF has made an important contribution responding to real and major public concerns about this abuse of the Internet," said Home Office minister Kate Hoey. "I welcome its continued efforts with the support of the police, service providers, and the public in removing this vile material."
But critics aren't impressed. They say the report, which reviews potentially illegal material that was removed from the Internet, points to a lack of accountability.
"It fails to point out that over 80 percent of the material censored could not be upheld by UK courts and does not draw attention to the fact that it remains unelected, unaccountable, and permits no redress," said Chris Ellison, spokesman for the civil rights group Internet Freedom.
"The Internet Watch Foundation makes the Communications Decency Act look positively libertarian." That now largely moribund US law sought to limit the accessibility of "indecent" material online.
The report recommends the group develop content rating and filtering systems, and tackling Net chat services that the document suggests are a danger to children.
Following an Internet audit conducted between December 1996 and August 1998, 2,146 items were reported to the Internet Watch Foundation. Of those, 453 were considered potentially illegal. Ninety percent of the material was child pornography. Only 75 of the illegal items originated in Britain.
Attempts to regulate online pornography in the United States have led to failed legislation such as the Communications Decency Act and the Child Online Protection Act. But the British government has introduced no special legislation to address the material.
Instead, the government has offered support and funding to industry self-regulatory groups such as the Internet Watch Foundation.
When child porn is identified within the borders of the United Kingdom, the foundation bypasses the normal judicial process and simply advises the ISP to remove it as quickly as possible. While the group has no legal power to order ISPs to delete content, they must comply in order to retain membership in vital trade groups such as the Internet Service Providers Association.
The foundation and the government both seem happy with the arrangement.
"We are very pleased that the report confirms that the self-regulation initiative by the UK Internet Service Providers has proved an effective way to deal with a problem that many regarded as insoluble when we started in 1996," said David Kerr, chief executive of the Internet Watch Foundation.
But others remain critical of the IWF.
"No decisions should be taken without proper public consultation and an open and transparent environment should be established for regulatory initiatives in the field of Internet regulation rather than important policies being developed by unaccountable bodies," said Yaman Akdeniz, director of Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties.
