Sensationalist headline from the Tribune this Sunday: Internet providers refuse to fund web sex abuse hotline. So have you stopped beating your wife then? That’s pretty much the same line.
The line from the article is child pornography is online and without Digiweb, Magnet, Hosting 365, Leap et al paying fees to the ISP Association of Ireland who run Hotline.ie, child porn is going to run rampant because Hotline won’t be able to keep going. Think of the children!
among the well-known companies which are not members of the Internet Service Providers’ Association of Ireland (ISPAI) – and by extension are not financially supporting its Hotline.ie service – are Digiweb, Magnet, Hosting 365, Smart Telecom and Lastmile.ie
By extension? So by extension Texaco are not in the ISPAI so they too REFUSE to fund the war on child porn?
Isn’t it odd that they can’t support Hotline.ie on it’s own but have to buy into the ISP Association if they did decide to voluntarily help in the reporting of child pornography online? Can other companies give financial support to Hotline.ie?
Why is an industry-run group tasked with logging reports about child pornography online? Well apparently our poor Gardai have enough to be doing, besides, you know, watching out for serious things like Child Pornography:
Paul Durrant, general manager of the ISPAI, told the Sunday Tribune the current approach, whereby members of the public can report suspect internet content to Hotline.ie, had been agreed after high-level discussions between the relevant authorities 10 years ago.
…
“If there is no hotline there, where are the public going to report to? Their local garda station, who have 101 things to do?” he added.
So maybe we let Toyota, Ford and Irish Toll Roads Ltd run an organisation that patrols our roads for people that commit serious crimes there? Same logic right?
Were I Digiweb and Magnet and Hosting 365 I’d be phoning my solicitor over the way they got painted in that article. I also think were the Government to actually try and regulate this they’d get a kicking in the Courts for forcing a company to pay dues to a “voluntary” organisation. We’re not obliged to join a union as individuals, why should a company be strong-armed into joining a business union? If the Government is going to fund Hotline.ie then do. Enough of threatening businesses to join a voluntary org, only part of which deals with fighting child porn.
If the Government really gave a damn about Hotline.ie wouldn’t they be funding it?
