Landmark summit agrees collaboration between agencies in the fight against online child exploitation
Julkaistu 1.4.2009 13:08. Päivitetty 14.5.2009 9:35.
INHOPE/INSAFE North Regional Meeting, Save the Children Finland, Helsinki, Finland, 1st & 2nd April 2009
INHOPE’s North Regional Meeting of the EC Safer Internet networks met today to bring together a coalition of stakeholders from the participating countries to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing Hotlines*, Awareness Nodes and Helplines in the future, whilst adapting to the changing environment of the digital world.
The meeting, “Cooperation and Coalition in the fight against illegal and harmful content on the Internet”, has for the first time brought together experts from over 15 countries to address the specific region of Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Russia. Hotlines, Awareness Nodes, Helplines, international and national police forces, government representatives, child protection agencies and internet industry experts met to discuss and explore Internet safety issues and regional and global issues.
Finnish Minister of Communications Suvi Lindén on opening the conference commented that “the topic of today is cooperation and coalition in the fight against illegal and harmful content on the Internet. Given the borderless nature of the Internet, it is crucial to exchange views on an international level. I am pleased that the European Commission has been so active in supporting Safer Internet work all around Europe and even beyond. Working together – both nationally and internationally – is the key to good practices and possible solutions”. (Read Suvi Lindén's opening speech)
The year 2009 marks the ten-year anniversary of INHOPE, the International Association of Internet Hotlines. A Hotline is where the general public can report illegal internet content such as child sexual abuse images. To encourage new Hotline initiatives worldwide, INHOPE, in cooperation with the EC and INSAFE, is prioritising countries where illegal material can potentially be hosted or produced and countries which are deemed to be important in the fight against illegal and harmful material online.
Richard Swetenham of the European Commission said that “the European Union supports complementary actions in order to keep youngsters safe online through the Safer Internet Programme. The INHOPE network of hotlines fights against distribution of child sexual abuse material, and the INSAFE network of awareness centres and helplines informs parents, teachers and children on risks and solutions for staying safe online. The European Commission welcomes this meeting where experts from northern Europe will share their experience. I am sure it will allow stronger coordination and joint efforts to make the Internet safer for our children.”
Child welfare professionals, a youth panel and policy makers united to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the Safer Internet Projects. The breakout sessions and workshops gave Internet specialists from INHOPE and Law Enforcement partners the opportunity to discuss preventative measures to deal with the immediate danger of online predators.
Closing the meeting Chairman Ruben Rodriguez, President of INHOPE said “Our children are our future and we must all do whatever possible to keep them safe. Protecting them requires close cooperation and collaboration between agencies tasked with keeping them out of harms way. Creating a philosophy of working in harmony to achieve a common goal is the benchmark for success”.
Hotlines have proven to be an effective first line of defence against illegal content online. Over the past ten years INHOPE has gained a substantial and unique wealth of experience in helping to make the Internet a safer place.
(*) In some countries hotlines are called tiplines
About INHOPE
INHOPE, the International Association of Internet Hotlines, was founded in 1999 under the European Commission’s Safer Internet Action Plan to represent and coordinate a global network of Hotlines.
The mission of INHOPE is to support and enhance the performance of Internet Hotlines around the World, ensuring swift action is taken in responding to reports of illegal action, making the internet a safer place.
A Hotline is where the general public can report illegal internet content such as child sexual abuse images. The Hotline confidentially reviews each report, referring illegal material onto the relevant law enforcement agencies or Internet Service Providers for further action.
Today, there are thirty three members of INHOPE worldwide, including members from Europe, Asia, North America and Australia. Through meeting regularly to share knowledge and best practice, INHOPE and its members are working to tackle the global problem of illegal content online – and succeeding.
About INSAFE
INSAFE is the European Safer Internet awareness-raising network co-funded by the European Commission. It comprises national contact centres across the European Union and in Iceland and Norway, with partner organisations in Argentina, Australia and the USA. Insafe aims at empowering users to benefit from the positive aspects of internet whilst avoiding the potential risks. Further information is available at www.saferinternet.org or contact info-insafe@eun.org
About Save the Children Finland
Save the Children Finland works actively to advance the use of safe medias and to prevent and intervene in problems related to digital media. The organisation has expertise in the phenomenon of the sexual abuse of children and the preceding process of child grooming.
Save the Children works to increase the presence of reliable adults in web services used by children and young people by developing models of operation and support services for the internet. We also educate professionals working with or for the benefit of children on these subjects.
Save the Children's internet safety activities are funded by the Safer Internet Plus programme of the European Commission, the Finnish Slot Machine Association RAY, the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Finland, and various Finnish companies, foundations and private donors.
About Safer Internet plus programme
The Safer Internet plus programme aims to promote safer use of the Internet and new online technologies, particularly for children, and to fight against illegal content and content unwanted by the end-user, as part of a coherent approach by the European Union.
Save the Children Finland (Pelastakaa Lapset) Press Contact:
Communication manager Merja Saarikoski
e: merja.saarikoski@savethechildren.fi
w: www.savethechildren.fi
m: + 358 40 535 8221. tel: + 358 9 4235 5400
INHOPE Press Contact:
Kerry Gordon
INHOPE Marketing & Communications Coordinator
25 Sandyford Office Park, Dublin 18, Ireland
e: kerry.gordon@inhope.org
w: www.inhope.org
m: +353 87 99 614 99
Press Conference Attendees
Ruben Rodriguez is the President of INHOPE and currently Director, Domestic & International Law Enforcement Affairs International Centre for International Center Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC) and has been with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) since 1990. Prior to coming to the National Center, Ruben was a Detective with the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington DC, where he was assigned to the Intelligence Division. From March 1985 to June 1990 he was assigned to the FBI as an Intelligence Liaison Officer dealing with Organized Crime. As a guest lecturer at the FBI Training Academy in Quantico, VA, The British Senior Police College, Bramshill, England, Interpol, Europol and at several National and International law enforcement conference and symposium Ruben has spoken on the issues of missing and abducted children and child sexual victimization. He is a member of the INHOPE Association and currently holds the position of President of that organization. INHOPE is a European Union funded network of international Hotlines dealing with illegal content on the Internet.
Ruben has held the posts of Technical Advisor of the Legal and Training Subcommittee of the Interpol, Standing Working Group on Offenses against Minor, a U.S. Representative to The UN Committee on Education Science Culture (UNESCO).He developed and is currently managing International Law Enforcement Training Programs entitled Computer facilitated Crimes against Children, in partnership with Interpol and Microsoft and a First Responders Course for Missing Children Investigations.
Richard Swetenham is Head of the eContent and Safer Internet Unit in the Information Society and Media Directorate-General of the European Commission. He has been dealing with the issue of Internet content since mid-1996, when he drafted the Communication on illegal and harmful content in 1996 followed by the Ministerial Declaration of the Bonn Conference on Global Information Networks (the first international conference at a high level dealing with electronic commerce) in 1997. Richard has been involved with the Safer Internet programme since its inception. He produces QuickLinks, an electronic newsletter on legal and regulatory issues related to the Information Society as well as developments in market and technology.
Mari Laiho is an INHOPE Board Member and Safer Internet Manager at the Save the Children Finland. She is responsible for the Save the Children Finland work aimed to improve children’s safety related to the digital media, consisting of maintaining a Hotline for reporting illegal and harmful online content and activities, providing educational material, campaigns and trainings for moderators and other online actors and professionals working with or for children, and increasing the reliable adults presence in the online social services by organizing chats and maintaining online communities. Coordinator of the “Finnish Internet Awareness and Safety” project under the European Commissions Safer Internet Plus programme.
Janice Richardson was born in Australia and has worked as a teacher, university lecturer, educational researcher and consultant in Australia, France, Luxembourg and Belgium. She is the author of two books and many articles on the pedagogical use of ICT and the development of e-literacy. Since 2004 Janice has worked in Brussels at European Schoolnet, an umbrella organisation that works with teachers and pupils to improve learning strategies through the integration of online technology. As eSafety Adviser she coordinates the INSAFE network, set up and mandated by the European Commission to raise internet safety awareness across Europe.
