Vigilance among the internet-using public remains a key factor in the fight against child abuse material being distributed over the internet, the chief executive of the Irish Internet Service Providers Association (ISPAI) will tell ECPAT’s International Conference on Child Online Safety in Taiwan this week.
ISPAI CEO Paul Durrant this week will join speakers from around the globe pooling their expertise to improve counter measures against this insidious exploitation of children and approaches to raising parental awareness to protect their children’s safety online.
Durrant will be highlighting the need for initiatives to keep pace with the ever-evolving digital landscape.
He maintains that vigilance of the internet-using public remains a key factor in the fight against child abuse material being distributed over the internet.
The Irish Internet Hotline, established in 1999 and run by the ISPAI, has continually increased its technical expertise to meet advances on the internet and has now been invited by ECPAT to share this globally.
“As the complexity of distribution methods being used moves from open websites to peer-to-peer technologies, ISPs and law enforcement face new challenges to react swiftly against misuse,” Durrant warned.
He will demonstrate techniques to trace sources of illegal content in these complex environments and highlights that international procedures must also be refined to ensure a rapid response.
International co-operation key to fight against child porn
Taipei representative in Ireland Dr Harry Tseng emphasised the importance of international co-operation between governments, the internet telecommunications industry, non-government organisations and law enforcement in this endeavour.
He is delighted Ireland will represent the European ISP industry to share the technologists’ view on how best to respond in this vital matter. “The borderless nature of the modern internet necessitates international co-operation and communication and it is reassuring to see this conference bringing expertise from neighbours like Japan and South Korea and countries as far a field as USA, Latvia, Australia, UK and Ireland.”
Since its foundation, ECPAT Taiwan has been fighting against all forms of commercial sexual exploitation in a bid to end child prostitution, child pornography and child trafficking for sexual purposes.
To protect child safety on the internet, eliminate online illegal content and eradicate child pornography, ECPAT Taiwan joined the International Association of Internet Hotlines (INHOPE) network in 2005.
INHOPE, of which ISPAI Hotline.ie was among the first members, represents internet hotlines all over the world and through meeting regularly to share knowledge and best practice, hotline members worldwide co-operate to tackle the global problem of illegal child pornography being distributed online.
