UK government watchdog told to boost profile

NEWS The watchdog responsible for protecting the UK public from illegal Internet material has been told it must do more to raise its profile. A government review of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) - which monitors UK Web sites and prevents the publication of pornography and other illegal material - praised the group for its work but said few members of the public were aware of its existence. The survey, commissioned by KPMG and Denton Hall, showed only 6 per cent of the public had heard of the IWF - not enough if the body wanted to continue its role, the report concluded. "Profile-building publicity... and public relations will be required, particularly if the IWF is to consolidate its role as a self regulatory body," stated the report. The authors added said that Internet service providers could do more to help promote the organisation's activities. The review called for more action in all areas of the watchdog's work. A series of recommendations were put forward, including further work on developing a rating systems and filtering technology to prevent access to explicit sites. But civil liberty groups Cyber Rights and Cyber-Liberties, criticised the reviews lack of focus on its policy making work. The groups claimed the scope of the review was limited to the IWF's removal of illegal material but failed to value the group for its formation of ethical policies for policing the Internet. However, in a pre-prepared statement, the IWF said it welcomed the appraisal and was already implementing the recommendations. However the organisation suggested that as it was "increasingly drawn into public policy issues" there was a case for "more governmental and public involvement in its direction and funding". The foundation added: "We contend that for a small organisation with a tiny PR budget we have a remarkably high level of recognition and accessibility for people on the Net." IWF chief executive David Kerr was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.