Hungary to block child pornography sites

The mechanisms to prevent access will be operative as of 1 January 2012.

“Telenor Norway was the first mobile operator worldwide to take technical action to prevent users from viewing pages with pedophile content. I’m pleased that Telenor Hungary will be the first Hungarian mobile operator to join this international initiative. In addition to the fast adoption of mobile Internet, we also aim to promote safe and responsible Internet use,” said Christopher Laska, CEO of Telenor Hungary.

Preventing sexual abuse of children and minors

Telenor Hungary joined forces with National Media and Communications Authority (NMHH) and the National Police Headquarters (ORFK) to promote the long-term objective of preventing the sexual abuse of children and minors. The newly signed agreement is a major milestone in the effort to fight against illegal and harmful online content in line with the values of the European Union.

“Blocking illegal content we want to prevent children from falling victim to pedophiles over and over again. We hope that our initiative will help find a solution that is reassuring for children and parents alike,” said Senior Corporate Responsibility Consultant Richárd Halmay.

Blocking illegal content

Any recording that depicts a person below the age of 18 in a pose or situation that may potentially arouse sexual desire is pedophile content. Distributing such content (video, film or photo) is a criminal offence. If a user wants to open a blocked Website, his/her browser will display a Stop page with the information that access to the Website was denied due to illegal content.

Hungarian users can report any Internet harassment, pedophile, racist or extremely violent content to NMHH’s recently launched hotline service at www.internethotline.hu. The international list of Interpol will be forwarded to us by ORFK.

Important issues of social responsibility

Cooperating on important issues of social responsibility with public authorities is an example of how Telenor Hungary is implementing good business environment management (BEM) practices. We have proven to the regulatory authority that Telenor is interested in a healthy internet ecosystem and takes the responsibility that comes with marketing high-speed broadband services serious. This gives Telenor enhanced credibility in its general dealings with NMHH.

“We’re very pleased to see that Telenor Hungary is making this move to prevent its networks from being abused by those seeking to profit from or consume child sexual abuse material. This sends a strong signal, as Telenor Hungary is pioneering this in its home country. We also hope that it will serve as inspiration to others,” said Ola Jo Tandre at Group Corporate Responsibility.