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The Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan Shatter TD, today launched the Annual Report for 2012 of Hotline.ie, which provides an anonymous facility for the public to report suspected illegal content encountered on the Internet, in a secure and confidential way.

Speaking today, Minister Shatter said "The purpose of Hotline.ie is to protect individuals and families from harmful material on the Internet and to encourage, promote and assist in the development of Internet safety awareness. The service has become an important instrument in Ireland’s defence against child pornography as well as any other illegal website content. Hotline.ie examines reports from members of public, including concerned parents, about illegal content on websites and where necessary traces them back to wherever they are hosted."

The Minister emphasised that the service is free and confidential and any person making a report to Hotline.ie can if they wish remain anonymous. He added that Hotline.ie works closely with the Gardaí and with the international network of similar agencies under the umbrella body, INHOPE.

Speaking at the launch, the Minister noted that the number of reports received during 2012 was up by 20% compared with 2011 and he remarked that this was the highest level of reporting since the opening of Hotline.ie in 1999, demonstrating the success of the service.

According to the Minister "One of Hotline.ie’s great strengths is that it allows members of the public to play a direct role in reporting suspected illegal content on the internet. It gives every internet user an opportunity to participate in the fight against the spread of the illegal content. While most reports related to alleged child pornography, the hotline can also deal with financial scams or any illegal matter.

The Minister thanked the management and staff of Hotline.ie for their challenging and excellent work and acknowledged the continuing financial and other support by the Internet Service Providers Association of Ireland and the EU.