Internet service providers charging CEOP for data

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) is paying internet service providers (ISPs) thousands of pounds for information about suspected paedophiles.

The organisation set up to tackle the problem of child sex abuse said since 2006 it has paid £170,000 to ISPs for data needed to help it safeguard children using online services such as chatrooms and social networking sites. It said the money could have been used to employ a further two full-time investigators.

Calling the situation "ridiculous", Jim Gamble, chief executive of CEOP said: “The information that internet service providers hold is critically important to us.

“It exposes to us the person who’s been involved in that communication, and if that person has been involved with some criminal intent it will help us explode out the network that they are part of and very often... enable us to identify, safeguard and rescue a child who’s the subject of abuse.”

Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) the BBC found that CEOP has made 9,400 requests for information to ISPs; including email addresses and online transactions.

The law says that ISPs can charge for the service and although some do not, others charge up to £65 a time.

However, the Internet Service Providers' Association, the trade association for ISPs, said law enforcement agencies should expect to pay for data; just as they pay for any other crime-fighting tool.

Nicholas Lansman, secretary general said: "Taxpayers' money has always gone to the police whether it's to purchase vehicles or uniforms or any other equipment.

"ISPs charge a certain amount to recover their costs, this is not about them making money. Many companies don't actually make those charges.

"There's a whole lot of other work in terms of training police and finding more information that doesn't get part of the equation in terms of those costs. "