Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions, if any, they have had with the Internet Watch Foundation about obliging internet service providers (1) to block child pornography, and (2) to help prevent the sexual abuse of children.

As set out in the Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy, the Internet Watch Foundation is a vitally important partner and plays a crucial role in tackling online child sexual exploitation and abuse, including blocking access to child sexual abuse material.

The Government routinely engages the Internet Watch Foundation including recently on addressing self-generated indecent imagery where we strongly support the joint Internet Watch Foundation and NSPCC ‘Report Remove’ initiative. The Home Office has also funded the Internet Watch Foundation to deliver a campaign helping both children and parents to understand the risks which can be posed online, specifically around youth-produced sexual imagery.