The FAQs on IWF’s website covers a vide range of issues, to see all of them click here. Below is a selection of the questions and answers

Chat Rooms and IM

Question:
Can the IWF give some general advice on Chat Room Safety and Safe Surfing?

Answer:
You must make sure that you are careful when chatting to strangers online and make sure you do not give out your name, address, mobile phone name or password to people online.

If you are going to meet someone you have contacted online it can be dangerous, so you need to make sure that ask your parents/carers permission and that they go with you to meet them.

Do not believe everything that someone tells you online, they may be lying about who they are and how old they are.

You need to make sure that you tell an appropriate adult if someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable or nervous online.

Question:
I would like to make a report about improper activity that I have witnessed or experienced in a Chat room or on an Instant Messaging service, can I do this though the IWF?

Answer:
The IWF are unable to take reports on chat room abuse. You need to make your report to the Virtual Global Taskforce, who will be happy to deal with your report.



Child Abuse

Question:
I’m worried about a child that may be a victim of abuse. Who should I contact?

Answer:
You should either contact your local Police or the NSPCC as a matter of urgency.

Question:
Who can children contact about Child Abuse?

Answer:
Children can contact Childline, which is specifically aimed at children and offers advice and support for children in vulnerable situations.

Question:
I think that I know someone who has images of child abuse on their computer, what should I do?

Answer:
You should contact your local Police.



Photographs of Children

Question:
What is the law on Photographs of Children?

Answer: Section 45 of the Sex Offences Act 2003 amended S.1. Protection of Children Act (POCA) 1978 in May 2004 by raising the age of a ‘child’ from 16 to 18.

The amended Section 1 POCA 1978 now makes it an offence to; take, make, allow to take, distribute, show, possess with intent to distribute, or advertise indecent photos or pseudo-photographs of children under the age of 18. That means, by knowingly looking at an indecent image of a child you are breaking the law in this country. Making or downloading potentially illegal child abuse images is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Within this amendment to the POC Act there are circumstances where a photograph of a person over the age of 16, but under the age of 18 would not be an offence: For full details of this please see Sexual Offences Act 2003, sections 16-19.


Question:
What constitutes an illegal image?

Answer:
It means any images of children, apparently under 18 years old, involved in sexual activity or posed to be sexually provocative and include images depicting nudity or erotic posing, with no sexual activity.

Only the IWF and the Police are authorised to assess and categorise such images.


Question:
Are there any recommended guidelines on taking and displaying photos of children?

Answer:
There is a potential for abuse of any image placed on the internet. This could be by cutting & pasting images, editing images or changing the context within which the images are viewed. Changing images digitally in this way is often called ‘morphing’.


Helping the IWF

Question:
Can I help the IWF by looking for websites to report?

Answer:
No. Whilst the IWF appreciates consumer concern about content they may been exposed to, the IWF strongly discourage anyone actively seeking out images of child abuse on the Internet as this is against the law and to do so in order to report to the IWF would not be seen as a defence in court. If you have inadvertently stumbled upon potentially illegal content you should report it to the IWF ‘Hotline’.
For more FAQ’s click here.