Ms Ana Niculescu:

I thank the committee for the invitation to address it. ISPAI is a not-for-profit organisation and the legal entity delivering the hotline.ieservice, which is the national reporting mechanism where the public can anonymously, securely and confidentially report suspected illegal content online. hotline.ie's remit is distinct and limited to combating online material which is simultaneously harmful and illegal, namely child pornography, also known as child sexual abuse material, CSAM. Thehotline.ieservice has been effective in having CSAM swiftly removed from the Internet because it operates within a clearly defined legislative framework where the harm is clearly illegal. Additionally, it is a transnational crime which allows for decisive international action when CSAM is hosted outside Ireland. There is no burden of proof in respect of consent as engaging a child in sexual activities is prohibited under all circumstances and any presumed consent would be null and void. When talking about CSAM, it is important to note that we are talking about materials showing the extreme abuse of children, the majority of them infants to 12 year olds. For example, 84% of the material classified as child pornography from January 2017 to June 2019 showed children estimated to be four to 12, with 7% aged three and younger.

hotline.iehas been working in an environment predominantly governed under the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998, amended by the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017. It is clear national legislation that comprehensively defines what would constitute child pornography and corresponding offences.

The broader context commonly referred to as industry self-regulation consists of, as a non-exhaustive list, the EU directive on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, which provides for an international framework. The e-commerce directive is also transposed into Irish law and sets out the requirements and exemptions for intermediaries' liability for illegal content. There is a national co-ordinated multi-stakeholder approach, where hotline.ieoperations and procedures are agreed and overseen by the Department of Justice and Equality. Since inception, we have been working in conjunction with national law enforcement and in co-operation with Internet companies operating in Ireland for the removal of CSAM from the Internet. Our hotline.ieanalysts are internationally trained by INHOPE and Interpol in content and age assessment. There are national reporting mechanisms such as hotline.iein more than 40 countries worldwide, coming together as the International Network of Internet Hotlines, INHOPE, allowing for international co-operation and co-ordination. When child pornography is hosted in Ireland, we will issue a notice for takedown to the Internet service or content provider and will notify the paedophile investigation unit of the Garda National Protective Services Bureau. In most cases, the notified material is removed from the Internet within 24 hours. When CSAM is hosted outside Ireland, hotline.iewill still notify the paedophile investigation unit and thereafter the INHOPE member hotline in the relevant jurisdiction, so that CSAM may be swiftly removed at source.

INHOPE figures show that 64% of CSAM reported across different international jurisdictions in 2018 was removed within 72 hours. As previously outlined, in Ireland, it is removed within 24 hours. However, slower international removal times may be due to CSAM hosted in countries without a hotline presence, a lack of designated points of contact and streamlined notice for takedown process with Internet companies, or countries with inadequate or deficient legislation.

The self-regulatory model is effective in the circumstances in whichhotline.ieoperates and may be useful to look at as a reference point for other types of content but it would warrant further scoping.

For those who may not be aware, the hotline.ieservice will be 50% co-funded by the European Union through the Connecting Europe Facility's safer Internet programme until June 2021. The other 50% is co-funded by ISPAI member Internet companies, comprising Internet service providers, hosting providers, search engines and mobile and telecommunications operators. Hotline.iewas established as one of the key recommendation of the Government's working group on the illegal and harmful use of the Internet in 1998. It provides a free, secure and anonymous online reporting mechanism, content assessment expertise to ensure reported material is subject to objective evaluation in accordance with rigorous standards by reference to Irish law, a triage function through assessing public reports and notifying only content that is most likely illegal under Irish law, thereby reducing the burden that would otherwise be placed on law enforcement by, for example, assessing complaints that may not prove to reside in Ireland and operating the notice and takedown service, which is recognised worldwide as a vital and efficient tool in the removal of child sexual abuse material at source and which, in turn, reduces its availability on the Internet, disrupts the cycle of sexual exploitation and prevents further victimisation of children. In my written statement I have provided statistics that are worth looking at.

I stress that we welcome the committee's engagement with a variety of experts and stakeholders and we are grateful for the opportunity to contribute to these discussions. We are also supportive of the Government's attempts to address the spectrum of harms and that different harms may require different legislative and regulatory responses, with due account of the fact that the Internet is an ever-evolving, technically challenging and complex environment. Superimposed on that is a continuum between offline and online behaviour that contributes to the complexity of developing effective responses and remedies. I am happy to provide further information in writing as required. I thank committee members for their attention.