LONDON, September 22 /PRNewswire/ --

Optenet, a leading global IT security company and a provider of 
intelligent, integrated content security solutions, has become a member of 
the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), joining over 80 member companies from a 
variety of organisations in their battle against illegal content online. With 
its web filtering expertise, Optenet aims to support the IWF's efforts to 
eliminate illegal Internet content, specifically, child sexual abuse images 
hosted anywhere in the world, as well as criminally obscene content and 
incitement to racial hatred content hosted in the UK.

The IWF works in partnership with the online industry, including
companies like Optenet, and with the UK Government to influence initiatives
developed to combat online abuse. This dialogue goes beyond the UK and Europe
to ensure greater awareness of global issues, trends and responsibilities.
They work internationally with relevant authorities and organisations to
encourage wider adoption of good practice in combating online child sexual
abuse content and to promote inclusive and united global responses to this
dynamic, cross-border criminality.

"We are delighted to welcome Optenet as a member of the IWF. The
dedicated support and efforts of our members have enabled our effective
self-regulatory approach to be recognised as a model of good practice in
combating illegal online content, particularly, minimising the availability
of child sexual abuse content hosted on UK networks and worldwide. In
partnership, we work to foster trust and reassurance in the Internet for
current and future users and look forward to working with Optenet," said
Peter Robbins OBE, PQM, Chief Executive of IWF.

"Optenet was founded on the belief that filtering illegal content online
can create a safer Internet environment and that the technology community
shares the responsibility of protecting the Internet for all users," said Ana
Luisa Rotta Soares, European Projects Director of Optenet. "The IWF has made
great strides toward raising the profile of online protection and fighting
against online content abuses, and we are thrilled to add our support to
these efforts and to make a contribution to the ongoing success of the IWF
and the eradication of illegal content."

Since its founding in 1997, Optenet has been firmly committed to
eliminating the digital divide through effective education and safe usage of
the Internet, especially for children. For this reason, Optenet has helped
create a number of child safety initiatives, including Securenet, a European
network of child sexual abuse hotlines, as well as NetProtect II, Sift and
Infonet, programs that aid in the production of filtering and online
classification systems. All of these efforts have been endorsed by the
European Commission's Safer Internet Program. In addition, Optenet's latest
project, Selecta, uses language analysis techniques and tools to
automatically classify Internet content.

Optenet is also affiliated with NGO Protégeles and the International
Association of Internet Hotlines, INHOPE.

About Optenet

Optenet provides intelligent, integrated content security solutions to
service providers and large enterprises. Optenet's technology protects 75
million end users worldwide, including the customers of many of the world's
leading ISPs and mobile operators, including Orange, O2 and Telefonica, as
well as global enterprise organisations such as McDonalds, Daimler AG and
Hilton. For more information, visit www.optenet.com.

About the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)

The IWF is the only recognised organisation in the UK operating an
internet 'Hotline' for the public and IT professionals to report their
inadvertent exposure to potentially illegal content online. Our aim is to
minimise the availability of potentially illegal content, specifically: child
sexual abuse images hosted anywhere in the world; criminally obscene content
hosted in the UK; incitement to racial hatred content hosted in the UK.

We are a self-regulatory body, funded by the EU and the wider online
industry. This includes internet service providers (ISPs) mobile operators
and manufacturers, content service providers, telecommunications and
filtering companies, search providers and the financial sector as well as
blue-chip and other organisations who support us for corporate social
responsibility reasons.

Through the 'Hotline' reporting system, we help ISPs to combat abuse of
their services through a 'notice and take-down' service by alerting them to
any potentially illegal content within our remit on their systems and
simultaneously inviting the police to investigate the publisher.

As a result, less than 1% of potentially illegal content has apparently
been hosted in the UK since 2003, down from 18% in 1997.

Please note that "child pornography", "child porn" or "kiddie porn" are
not acceptable terms. The use of such language acts to legitimise images
which are not pornography, rather, they are permanent records of children
being sexually abused and as such should be referred to as child sexual abuse
images.

For more information visit www.iwf.org.uk
    MEDIA CONTACTS:
    Marta Gomez
    Optenet
    +34-618-857-630
    communication@optenet.com
    http://www.optenet.com

    Joanna Horn
    DMG Europe Ltd.
    +44-7867-747-771
    optenet@daviesmurphy.com
    http://www.daviesmurphy.com

    Web site: http://www.optenet.com
              http://www.iwf.org.uk