Internet Watch Foundation named twice in the 2017 Digital Leaders List

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), partners in the UK Safer Internet Centre, has been nominated twice for the Digital Leaders 100 List.

The IWF and IWF’s Deputy CEO Fred Langford have been named in the 2017 Digital Leaders List. The independent list recognises 100 individuals and organisations across the UK who are leading the way in digital transformation. Digital Leaders is a global initiative that promotes effective, long-term digital transformation across government and industries.

The IWF has been named Charity of the Year. This award goes to non-profit organisations that have demonstrated the power of digital to change themselves or their services to their beneficiaries. Last year, the IWF developed their Image Hash List – a ground-breaking tech tool that puts a digital fingerprint on known images of child sexual abuse. These digital fingerprints are added up to a list which is then deployed to internet companies. Companies using the IWF Hash List help stop the upload, hosting, viewing and sharing of those images for good.

IWF’s Deputy CEO Fred Langford has been chosen as Digital Leader of the Year. This award goes to an individual whose actions in the past year have made them stand out in the transformation of our sector. Fred Langford has been crucial in the development, design and delivery of IWF’s services, including the Image Hash List. In 2016 alone, the IWF assessed more than 290k images of which over 122k were of child sexual abuse and were added to the Hash List. This would not have been possible without Fred’s expertise and dedication.

This year’s 100 finalists will now compete for the public vote in one of the ten categories. The winners will be announced on 22 June. To vote, click here.

Remember – If you ever stumble across a sexual image or video of someone you might think is under 18, please report it to the IWF. Confidentially and anonymously.