Registries using the Internet Watch Foundation and Public Interest Registry protections triple in crackdown on commercial child sex abuse rings

New partnership provides protection against child sexual abuse material for 37,842,025 new domains in six months

‘Now is the time’ to act, with IWF protection available for free, thanks to sponsorship from Public Interest Registry.

CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom, October 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — A ‘landmark’ move to target criminal gangs exploiting ‘loopholes’ to keep child sexual abusers online has seen a surge in the number of domain registries using the services Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has tripled in six months.

In February, Public Interest Registry (PIR), the U.S. nonprofit organization that manages the .ORG Top-Level Domain, joined the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) in an effort to give all domain name registrants free access to tools to help sites that specifically intended for these domains. to the commercial distribution and exploitation of online child sexual abuse material.

The sponsorship agreement sees PIR sponsor other registries and registry service providers with free access to two key IWF services: Domain Alerts and the TLD (Top-Level Domain) Hopping List.

Since PIR and IWF first launched the partnership, the partners have tripled the number of registries accessing IWF tools to stop child sexual abuse material. In February 2024only 11 registries received IWF Domain Alerts. Thanks to PIR’s sponsorship, another 20 registries are now purchasing services. This means that 31 registries now benefit from IWF protection, keeping criminal content out of a further 52 top-level domains, with almost 37.9 million domains under management, at no cost to participating registries.

Crucially, these tools will enable more registries to take action on top-level domain hopping – a practice in which criminal sites are taken offline, only to reappear, often with the same content and the same name, but under a another top-level domain.

For example, someone registers the site “BadAbuseSite” in one top-level domain, the domain is suspended, and then “BadAbuseSite” is re-registered in another top-level domain.

The new program makes the TLD Hopping List – which targets the criminal sites that the IWF has identified as recognizable abusive ‘brands’ – available for free to all registries for the first time. Now that more registries have access to the lists, there will be fewer places for criminals who abuse ‘brands’ to register their sites.

Derek Ray Hillinterim CEO at the IWFsaid: “This groundbreaking initiative has allowed us to bring IWF protection to even more parts of the internet.

“The issues we face require a joined-up approach, and I know that through partnerships like this we can make a real difference and frustrate these criminal gangs who want to profit from the suffering and pain of children.

“But we must go further. Over the past six months, we have tripled the number of registries using these tools. We are sending a strong message – and now it’s time for more people to join us in this important work. It’s time to close the door for good on these criminals.”

PIR is providing this sponsorship in furtherance of its nonprofit mission to serve as an exemplary domain name registry.

Jon NevettCEO of the Register of Public Interest said: “Public Interest Registry is proud to partner with the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) to protect children and make the Internet a safer place. IWF’s work to identify and remove harmful videos and images of child sexual abuse is critically important. As part of our nonprofit mission, we are honored to make IWF’s resources available to more registries to combat abuse.”

The PIR sponsorship also gives top-level domain registries free access to the IWF’s Domain Alerts program, which provides real-time alerts to participating registries if child sexual abuse content is detected on a domain they operate.

“Since integrating the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) services, we have seen a significant impact on our efforts to combat child sexual abuse material online,” say Neha VijaySenior Director Risk, Policy and Compliance at Radix Registry. “In 2024 alone, we received 168 CSAM reports, of which no less than 70% came directly from the IWF. Furthermore, since joining the IWF, we have not received any CSAM reports from other sources, underscoring the critical role IWF plays. in preventing online damage. Their work is invaluable in helping create a safer internet for everyone.”

This ensures quick removal of content before it is further distributed online. For domains identified as having sites engaged in the distribution of offensive content, the registry may take direct action and suspend the domain.

Other sites found to contain malicious content that may have been contributed by third parties, but are not engaged in distributing abusive material, will be notified and may remove the malicious content to avoid domain suspension.

For more information on how your business can get involved, visit iwf.org.uk/membership. Interested Domain Name registrations can contact the membership team directly at (email protected)

The public receives this advice when making a report iwf.org.uk/report:

• Report images and videos of child sexual abuse to the IWF for removal. Reports to the IWF are anonymous.
• Please provide the exact URL where child sexual abuse images are located.
• Do not report other harmful content. On the IWF website you can find information about other bodies to which you can report.
• Report it to the police if you are afraid that a child is in immediate danger.

Report only once per web address (or URL). Repeated reporting of the same URL is unnecessary and wastes analyst time.

Notes for editors:

The IWF is the largest hotline in Europe dedicated to finding and removing child sexual abuse material from the Internet.

Contact: Josh Thomas, press manager, (email protected) +44 (0) 7377 727058

Parents and caregivers are encouraged to do so CONVERSATION to their children about the dangers.

• Talk to your child about online sexual abuse. Start the conversation – and listen to their concerns.
• Agree on ground rules about how you use technology as a family.
• Learn about the platforms and apps your child loves. Show interest in their online life.
• Know how to use tools, apps, and settings that can help keep your child safe online.

What we do:

We make the internet safer. We help victims of child sexual abuse worldwide by identifying and removing online images and videos of their abuse. We search for images and videos of child sexual abuse and provide a place for the public to report them anonymously. We will then have them removed. We are a non-profit organization and supported by the global internet industry.

For more information please visit www.iwf.org.uk

The IWF is part of the UK Safer Internet Centerwork with Childnet International and the Southwest grid for learning to promote the safe and responsible use of technology.

The IWF works worldwide to stop images of child sexual abuse on the internet. If you ever come across a sexual image or video of someone you believe is under 18, please report this to the IWF. Reporting can be done anonymously and confidentially. We don’t need your information, just your help.