Time taken to shut child abuse sites criticised

· 30-day gap between report and removal of content
· Charities call for shake-up of global online policing

Child protection experts have called for greater efforts to patrol child abuse websites after a study revealed that it takes a month on average to take them down from the internet.


Under "notice and takedown" schemes, which compel internet companies to remove unlawful material hosted on their systems, child abuse sites remained online for an average of 30 days after being first reported.


The removal of child abuse websites in Britain is overseen by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), an independent body that works in conjunction with law enforcement and internet companies around the world.

The paper's authors, Tyler Moore and Richard Clayton, said the figures proved that current methods for removing illegal images from the internet were not working. "Our conclusion is that how long things stay available on the internet is based on how persistent you are, rather than how wicked they are," Clayton said. "The figures show that the IWF, in handing over the takedown to other organisations, is failing to deliver a service."

Children's charities said that although progress had been made, particularly in the UK, the example set by the financial industry showed that there was still a lot of work to be done.

"It's really unacceptable that there's such a difference in how long it takes - it's shocking," said Zoe Hilton, a policy adviser to the NSPCC. "I think everyone needs to pull their finger out, but we could be doing much more to lead on an international level."

A spokeswoman for the IWF said that while banks and other financial institutions take an international role in closing down illegal websites which could harm their customers, there were often difficulties getting law enforcement in other countries to act on child abuse websites.

"Some of these sites hop servers or move outside of the jurisdiction of the investigating forces," the spokeswoman said. "That's why we are calling for an international body that can track these sites all around the world."

Although illegal material posted on British websites is often removed quickly, the situation elsewhere is different. In 2006, the organisation said 2% of commercial child pornography sites worldwide were still active a year after being identified.

This is despite an international consensus that, while internet hosting companies are not liable for sites on their systems, they usually are obliged to remove or block illegal information once they have been notified of it.

Some sites use technical subterfuge or rely on the relative inaction of local agencies to remain in business.