Crackdown on internet porn may result in regulation of service providers

INTERNET service providers have been warned they face State regulation after it emerged that many have ignored a voluntary code of practice covering access to illegal or harmful material, including child pornography.

Children’s Minister Brian Lenihan, who has political responsibility for industry regulation, told a meeting of service providers that far too many have not signed up to the two-year-old code.

Of approximately 80 service providers, only 14 have signed up to be members of the Internet Service Providers Association of Ireland. The 14 help manage a hotline for members of the public to whistle-blow on potentially illegal material.

Mr Lenihan said many in the industry are leaving self-regulation to a small number of responsible organisations, who are more likely to be the larger, better known, providers of internet services, such as NTL and eircom.

The minister praised the code and hotline, but said the credibility and real effectiveness of the policy of self-regulation must remain an open question as long as service providers ignore signing up to the code. He warned that the Government would have no option but to examine other regulatory measures if the present situation continues.

The hotline has been in place for five years. In the two-year period to July 2003, it received 1,792 reports of material which members of the public suspected to be illegal.

Approximately 70% of these reports cited suspected child pornography. Following investigation, 10% of those were found to be probably illegal. Much of the rest related to images and text that was borderline, but legal, pornography.

Close to 10% complained about adult pornography, another 9% were non-specific in their allegations and the rest referred to financial scams, virus attacks and hacking.

Follow-up investigations revealed 213 unique reports of probably illegal material, none of which emanated from Ireland. Details were passed on either to similar hotlines in other countries or to the gardaí and Interpol.

A report by the Internet Advisory Board on the code of practice found that there is a high level of compliance among those who have signed up to it.

Service providers promise their services do not contain material which is illegal, misleading, likely to incite violence or cruelty, racial hatred, prejudice and discrimination.

Customers cannot use Internet Service Providers to create, host, or transmit material which is unlawful, libellous, abusive, offensive, vulgar, obscene or calculated to cause unreasonable offence.