British companies and their information technology teams who spot child porn on company computers can report such material without fearing prosecution, the Internet Watch Foundation said Sept. 27.
The IWF passed along that advice following a survey they took which found most British IT managers had no idea how to go forward if they found child porn on their company computers and networks. The group also said most of the IT managers they polled were barely aware of Britain's Sexual Offences Act of 2003, which was amended to allow IT managers to hold and report child porn to the proper authorities.
"The significance for IT Managers is that this Act introduces a conditional defense which protects IT professionals who, in their day-to-day management of electronic networks and services, may need to 'make' or download and then store potentially illegal child abuse images as evidence, in order for the content to be assessed by either a Law Enforcement Agency or a named ‘relevant’ body such as the IWF," the IWF said announcing the survey findings.
"This defense is intended to reassure people such as staff in ISPs and systems management who may have a role in identifying and securing such data for evidential and investigative purposes, that they can do so without fear of prosecution," the group continued. "It is not a defense for the random, casual, or deliberate viewing of child abuse images under any circumstances."
Adult Sites Against Child Pornography executive director Joan Irvine called the Act amendment and IWF advisory a "good solution to the ongoing problem of how to allow non-government entities to safely report suspected child pornography."
But she warned that the United States has no similar protection for IT managers who might think about doing the same as their British counterparts. "In the U.S. it is illegal to download, transmit, publish, or be in possession of child pornography for any reason," Irvine told AVNOnline.com.
"It is not illegal if you find yourself on one of these Websites, exit it, and report it. However, if you surf such Websites on an ongoing basis for the purpose of reporting, there is the potential to attract the attention of your [Internet Service Provider] and the authorities," continued Irvine, whose ASACP has a reporting page as well as a hotline as IWF has. "Unless requested by a law enforcement representative in writing, one should never maintain such images on their computers."
The IWF polled 1,000 readers of its weekly newsletter and discovered 87 percent of them had no knowledge about the actual rules of inadvertent child porn possession.
“It is vital that any organization providing Internet access to employees understands how to deal with these types of images," said IWF chief executive Peter Robbins. "Their policies must be in line with current U.K. legislation and internal procedures should be clearly and regularly explained to staff, including consequences for transgression. The IWF exists to support the public and industry professionals in minimizing the availability of potentially illegal content, especially child abuse images.”
Robbins added the law didn't help IT managers wanting to report child porn in the past because they were "too frightened. But recent changes protect those who have been legitimately exposed, meaning that they can report it to either us or the police."
