Many unaware of internet child abuse hotline

More than three-quarters of internet users who have stumbled across pictures of online child sex abuse did not know who to report it to, a survey said.

The poll for the Internet Watch Foundation, a charity that shuts down illegal content, found 77 percent of people were unaware of the IWF's "hotline" for reporting abusive material.

IWF Chief Executive Peter Robbins said he wanted to raise awareness of its reporting service in an attempt to reduce the amount of illegal images and video online.

"The UK has a very proactive approach to tackling child sexual abuse content online but we could do even more with the public's help," he said in a statement. "Internet consumers should know that if they do stumble across these images then it's vital to report them to the IWF."

People who report illegal content via their website, www.iwf.org.uk, are protected by law, he added. It received nearly 35,000 reports in 2007.

The poll also found two-thirds were unaware the Internet industry in Britain blocks known child abuse sites.

The foundation works with the internet industry, government and police to combat sites featuring child abuse, racism or criminally obscene content. * 1,000 adult internet users were polled in September and October.