Government to close child abuse image loophole

The Government plans to make it illegal to own computer-generated images (CGI) of children being abused.

As he chaired his first meeting of the Task Force on Child Protection on the Internet, Home Secretary John Reid said he was talking to cabinet colleagues about how the ban could be implemented. As well as these images, the ban will be extended to include cartoons or other graphic illustrations of children being abused.

The discussions will focus on how best to implement a ban; for example as a clause in legislation currently on the statute books or as a new bill going through at the moment.

At the same meeting Reid also announced the Task Force had developed an industry standard for software that will help parents protect their children online.

The Task Force which was set up in 2001 is a partnerhisp between the Government, law enforcers and child protection agencies. The aim is to make it safe for children in the UK to use the internet and shield them from criminal misuse of new technologies.

Although it is illegal to own photographs of child abuse, the same is not true for the images the Government wants to ban. Like photographs they are illegal to download and distribute but a loophole means it is not illegal to own them.

The Home Office said: "While it is illegal to distribute these abhorrent images, it is entirely legal to possess them."

John Carr of NCH the children’s charity, and a member of the Task Force, said this was sending out the wrong message to paedophiles and was leading to these images becoming increasingly prevalent.

The police are increasingly coming across the images when investigating cases of child abuse as they are often stored alongside illegal material, such as photographs held by paedophiles.

Parents will also be able to put more faith in child protection and parental control software, said the Home Office. It has developed an industry standard and by spring 2007 all of this software that meets a set of minimum requirements will have a BSI Kitemark.

A training pack for prison, probation and social work professionals has also been developed. This outlines the benefits and dangers of internet and communications services, how young people and sex offenders use them and how to look out for warning signs.