In 1996 the Internet Watch Foundation was created following an agreement between the Government, Police and the Internet Service Provider industry to work in partnership with each other in order to combat the problem of the growing distribution of child abuse images online (child pornographic images).
 

The IWF started its full operation in 1997 and started with only 6 members, it now has over 60 members. Since the IWF was created they have successfully managed to reduce the amount of potentially illegal content that is apparently hosted in the UK from 18% (1997) down to only 0.4%.

The IWF is funded by the EU and the internet industry, including Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Mobile Network Operators and Manufacturers, Content Service Providers (CSPs), Telecommunications and Software companies and credit card bodies.