In line with the Home Office target of blocking child abuse images, the vast majority of consumers are served by ISPs taking the list of URLs that contain child abuse images provided by the IWF in some form or another.

ISPA understands that the cost of deploying the list across networks is prohibitive to some smaller ISPs. The initial capital expenditure required and the ongoing annual costs are proportionately much greater for smaller ISPs and, in some cases, represent a significant barrier.

ISPA has organised events designed to help members overcome problems with deploying the list and has held a number of meetings with representatives from the IWF and the Home Office about helping smaller ISPs to meet the Government target. ISPA will continue to facilitate discussion in this area.

As a founding member of the IWF, ISPA values the continued cooperation and strong working relationship that exists between the two organisations. ISPA is an active member of the IWF and continues to support work being done to help protect children on the Internet and supports the successful model of self-regulation since the creation of IWF in 1996.

Nicholas Lansman, ISPA Secretary General said, "Deploying the IWF blocking lists for some smaller consumer ISPs with only a few hundred customers can be a large financial burden for the companies. ISPA supports the IWF and will continue to work with the Government and IWF to resolve this issue."

For more information please go to www.ispa.org.uk.