Internet Users Must Understand Their Online Responsibilities
Sunday 16th May 2004
Vigilance of Internet users is imperative to combating unlawful and illegal online content
Change in law and Government assistance required
- Fewer than one third of UK Internet users recognise that responsibility for unlawful* content on the Internet lies with the person who put it there
- More than 1 in 8 respondents (13 per cent) to the ISPA / ICM survey said that they would do nothing if they found something on the Internet that they thought was illegal**
- More than 1 in 5 people (21 per cent) said they would show unlawful content to other people
- Only 1 in 4 people (26 per cent) said they would surf the Internet to find the most appropriate organisation to report potentially unlawful content
A survey conducted by ICM Research (ICM) on behalf of the Internet Services Providers’ Association (ISPA), the UK’s leading Internet trade association, has highlighted concerns that Internet users do not understand their online responsibilities.
Less than one third of UK Internet users recognise that responsibility for unlawful* content on the Internet lies with the person who put it there.
Jessica Hendrie-Liaño, Chair of the ISPA Council said: “The law recognises those that post words, images, audio and video files - whether on websites, discussion forums or even using email - as having the same responsibility as publishers. Internet users must understand that they bear responsibility for the content they place online.”
30 per cent of respondents identified ISPs as being responsible for the presence of unlawful content. However, ISPs are rarely the publishers of their customers’ material.
Mrs Hendrie-Liaño of ISPA said: “ISPs do not have editorial control over content posted on their systems by their customers or other Internet users. Instances of illegal** content are very rare when compared to the vast amount of legitimate content available on the Internet. Online content changes every second and it is not always immediately apparent that material infringes the law. As a result ISPs are often unaware that they might be hosting unlawful content on their systems unless someone notifies them.”
ISPs merely carry information, much like the postal service. This fact was recognised and enshrined in UK law when the E-Commerce Regulations were published in 2002.
Success of the UK Internet Industry’s Self-Regulatory ‘Notice and Takedown’ Procedure
UK ISPs are successfully taking responsibility for removing illegal content hosted on their system once they have ‘actual knowledge’ that the materials are illegal. The UK Internet industry has been running a self-regulatory ‘notice and takedown’ procedure for criminal content for years. The success of this scheme is borne out by statistics released by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) in 2004.
In 2003 less than one per cent of illegal images reported to the IWF were hosted on the UK Internet.
Mrs Hendrie-Liaño of ISPA said: “The majority of illegal content on the Internet originates from the US and Eastern Europe. The Internet industry, law enforcement agencies and Governments in these territories should take action similar to the UK to limit access to illegal content.”
Don’t Ignore it
Of significant concern is that more than one in eight respondents (13 per cent) to the ISPA / ICM survey said they would do nothing if they found something on the Internet that they thought was illegal. Men were more than three times more likely to do nothing about illegal content than women.
Fay MacDonald,Communications Co-ordinator for the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) said; “One of the central aims of the IWF is to foster trust and reassurance for Internet users, by encouraging them to be vigilant and do something about any online images they believe to be illegal. If you discover content on the ‘net you believe to be illegal, don’t ignore it – report it”
More than one in five people (21 per cent) said they would show unlawful content to other people. In the case of illegal material this is a serious offence in itself.
Nearly half the respondents said they’d report suspicious content to their ISP. ISPA members will take what they deem to be appropriate action when they receive such notices. However ISPs are not qualified, sufficiently authorised or resourced to decide on the legal status of all the material on the Internet.
Mrs Hendrie-Liaño of ISPA said: “ISPs do not have the power to act as judge and jury covering Internet content. If this were the case, censorship would be in the hands of corporations and not with the Government which is the rightful place for such responsibility to lie.”
Only 29 per cent of respondents correctly recognised the Government or judiciary as the legitimate authorities to make decisions about the legal status of online content.
It is because of the specialist knowledge required when assessing potentially illegal content that ISPA helped to create the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) in 1996. The Internet Watch Foundation works in partnership with and is funded by the Internet industry to minimise the availability of illegal Internet content, particularly images depicting child abuse.
Only 26 per cent of people said they would surf the Internet to find the most appropriate organisation to report potentially unlawful content. Instances of images depicting child abuse, UK hosted material that potentially breaches the Obscene Publications Act and UK hosted criminally racist material should be referred to the IWF.
Fay MacDonald of the IWF said, “The IWF is the only organisation in the UK that provides an Internet ‘hotline’ for the public to report their exposure to illegal online images. We are very effective at minimising UK hosted illegal online content and we are a trusted authority within our area of expertise. This is partly due to our relatively long history in this area and our close working relationship with Internet content and service providers, law enforcement agencies, the Government and children’s charities.”
Mrs Hendrie-Liaño of ISPA said: “Both ISPs and the Internet Watch Foundation are reliant on the vigilance and action of Internet users in helping to combat illegal content on the Internet. At present the most effective thing to do if you stumble across online content that you think may be illegal is to make a report using the IWF’s online form at www.iwf.org.uk. Each member of ISPA must register with and provide a point of contact for the IWF, thus enabling the ISP to receive notices of illegal materials that are then removed from the member’s servers.”
Government assistance needed
Unlawful content is not just limited to material such as child pornography. Child pornography is illegal "full stop", both in the UK and throughout the world. It is almost always perfectly clear whether the material is illegal or not so it can be removed relatively easily.
However unlawful content also includes other less obvious material such as instances of defamation, infringement of copyright and other intellectual property rights, criminally racist or sexist content. Assessing the legal status or otherwise of such content is very difficult for the Internet industry.
ISPA secured many changes in the published UK E-Commerce Regulations that came into force on the 21st August 2002. However, the Regulations stopped short of introducing clear and effective procedures for removing unlawful content, known in the industry as ‘notice and takedown’.
Formal procedures governing the removal of unlawful material need to be developed to further clarify the rights and responsibilities of service providers who currently operate a self-regulatory notice and takedown procedure.
Mrs Hendrie-Liaño of ISPA said: “ISPA members are very concerned about the risk of unlawful and illegal content being posted on their servers and networks. The current self-regulatory approach has produced exceptional results when dealing with child pornography.
However, cases involving other forms of unlawful content, such as infringements of copyright, are legally complex, less clear cut and therefore more difficult for ISPs to resolve. ISPA believes that as a matter of priority, the Government should assist the UK Internet industry to create a universal procedure for establishing the illegality of material, and the notification of such content to ISPs by a designated authority.”
In December 2002 The Law Commission for England & Wales backed a change in the law related to ISPs’ responsibilities and the presence of potentially defamatory material on the Internet.
Law commissioner Hugh Beale QC said: "The problem is that the law puts ISPs under pressure to remove sites as soon as they are told that the material on them may be defamatory. There is a possible conflict between the pressure to remove material, even if true, and the emphasis placed on freedom of expression by the European Convention of Human Rights."
Mrs Hendrie-Liaño of ISPA said: “The UK is currently leading the world in the development of a safer Internet.ISPA created one of the world’s first codes of practice for providers of Internet services. UK ISPs created one of the earliest self-regulatory notice and takedown procedures in the world. The IWF was the first organisation in the world created to address illegal online content - it was established and is funded by the UK Internet industry. ISPA also worked with the Government to create the world’s first guidelines for providers of chat services."
In April 2004 the EU announced a proposal for a 50 million EURO project to create hotlines where members of the public can report Internet content that could be considered illicit, illegal or harmful.
Fay MacDonald, Communications Co-ordinator for the IWF said, “Such an initiative demonstrates that the UK’s IWF, founded in 1996, is in fact ahead of its time in developing procedures to deal with illegal and harmful content.”
- Ends -
Notes to Editors
For the purposes of this news release we are making the following classifications:
- *Unlawful content equates to materials that may lead to civil disputes such as defamation and copyright infringements
- **Illegal content equates to materials that are illegal to possess such as child pornography.
The views expressed in this release are those of the Internet Services Providers' Association (ISPA UK) and do not necessarily reflect the corporate policies of the individual companies that are members of the Association or other organizations that may be mentioned in the release.
For further information, please contact the ISPA Press Office. Email: pressoffice@ispa.org.uk Tel: 020 7340 4535
About the Internet Services Providers’ Association
The Internet Services Providers’ Association (ISPA) was established in 1995 as a trade association to represent providers of Internet services in the UK. ISPA promotes competition, self-regulation and the development of the Internet industry. For a list of members or other information about ISPA, please consult the website: http://www.ispa.org.uk
About the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)
The IWF was launched in September 1996 to combat the problem of illegal material on the Internet, with particular reference to child pornography. It is an independent organisation set up to implement proposals jointly agreed by the Government, the police and Industry. For more information, please consult the website at www.iwf.org.uk