Te Tari Taiwhenua, Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) is the first non-UK government agency to become a member of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and implement their child sexual abuse material URL blocklist.

The DIA Digital Child Exploitation Filtering System previously blocked the access of less than 1,000 child sexual abuse material URLs each quarter. Following the integration of the IWF URL blocklist, the DIA Filter system will be updated with 2,000 – 30,000 URLs daily.

The partnership also gives the Department access to research, intelligence, data, and expertise to help facilitate the protection of children and young people online.

The IWF URL blocklist uses human analysis and artificial intelligence to identify websites confirmed to depict child sexual abuse material.

The integration of the IWF URL blocklist will also be provided to DIA’s Pacific partners in Tonga and Samoa through DIA’s Digital Child Exploitation Filtering System.

IWF is an UK-based not-for-profit child protection organisation that works to minimize the availability of sexual abuse content, specifically child sexual abuse material hosted online through their dynamic URL blocklist.

“We are dedicated to protecting tamariki and the Digital Child Exploitation Filter is pivotal in our fight against individuals seeking out this abhorrent material,” says Jared Mullen, Director Digital Safety Group.

“Having access to an internationally collated blocklist helps us create a more robust deterrent to the access of child sexual abuse material.

“We have been working closely with the IWF for many months, and we are really pleased to establish this valued partnership.”

IWF Interim CEO Derek Ray-Hill says “IWF Members are pivotal partners in our fight to defend children online. By working with organisations like New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs, we can ensure that our dynamic URL List, which blocks access to webpages and websites of confirmed criminal child sexual abuse images and videos, can protect more people, particularly children, than ever before.

“We welcome the DIA’s dedication to tackling online child sexual abuse material and are delighted for them to join when their partnership is most needed. The volume of child sexual abuse imagery circulating online is reaching record levels and the threat to children is becoming more complex as new technologies such as generative AI are exploited by offenders. International collaboration is vital to successfully addressing this global crime.”

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