Tfno: (0034) 91 7400019
Fax: (0034) 91 7400207
Las Rozas
28230-Madrid, ESPAÑA
E-mail: contacto@protegeles.com
Way of working
PROTEGELES is composed by professionals from different fields: experts in children’s safety, computer technicians, specialist in children’s education, marketing and communication experts and others. Some of them are permanent staff of the association and some others only collaborate with us when we need it, for instance, for some specific campaigns and studies, we may need doctors and psychologists to work with us.
The work and general behaviour of the professional staff working for PROTEGELES is controlled by a series of internal rules, for instance, they all must sign confidentiality contracts due to the kind of material some of them are bound to see while working. Besides, the organisation itself is also controlled and limited in its way of working by the requirements imposed by the INHOPE and the European Commission.
As we will explain in more detail along this informative dossier, the INHOPE is the international organisation that brings together most of the hotlines against illegal content on the Internet, and especially child pornography. The INHOPE’s work is closely watched by the European Commission that controls both its work as an entity and that of all its European members as independent organisations. The European Commission even gathers information about all the meetings held by every member of each hotline. The requirements needed to become a full right member of the INHOPE are very strict and emphasise high levels of transparency. Everybody working in a hotline is specifically trained for their task and they have to sign special contracts. Most of the times they also receive psychological treatment. Many hotlines members of the INHOPE, and this is the case for PROTEGELES, do also receive financial support from the European Union, and therefore, their accounts are also supervised by it.
Besides, PROTEGELES is also backed by several Spanish ministries, the Spanish Ombudsperson and the Spanish Law Enforcement Units, among other institutions. Being supported by relevant official institutions is a necessary requirement to be become a member of the INHOPE.
The way of working of the hotlines plays an essential role in the fight against child pornography on Internet because they ensure that the name and identity of the person reporting an illegal content (regardless it is a web page, a community or a forum about child pornography) will never be known. Many Internet users appreciate the fact that they can remain unidentified. There are even some of them that are willing to help only if they can do it without revealing their name. PROTEGELES’ staff check one by one all reports of illegal content made in its webpage www.protegeles.com
If the information about illegal content reported is correct and it really is child pornography, or any other kind of illegal content, our next step will be trying to find out where is the server where the page is hosted and its author. Legislation on illegal content may vary from one country to the other so that our intervention depends on it. Once we have located the server where the illegal content is hosted we will inform about it to the Spanish Police Brigade for Technology Investigation (BIT after the Spanish acronym) or the Guardia Civil Group for Technologic Crimes. In case the server is not located in Spain, the police of the concerned country will also be informed as well as the INHOPE member hotline working in that country. PROTEGELES also informs the ISP hosting the page provided it is committed to fight child pornography and collaborates with the law enforcement units.
Although PROTEGELES’ work is relatively complex, it is professionalised from start to end and its transparency and control are absolutely guaranteed.
