The UK government will today host a web porn summit with representatives from 13 tech and telecoms firms as it seeks to adopt a more hands on approach to tackling the spread of extreme material online.
Amongst those gathering for the event will be Yahoo!, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Facebook, BT, Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk, Vodafone, O2, EE and Three under the auspices of culture secretary Maria Miller.
Fresh urgency has been given to the talks following a number of recent high profile cases; including those of paedophiles Mark Bridger and Stuart Hazell, both of whom went on to kill after viewing material online.
In response to such concerns the Internet Service Providers Association is calling for filtering tools to be made available much more widely but it remains opposed to default settings.
Speaking to Channel 5 the prime minister’s advisor on such issues, Conservative MP Claire Perry, said: “If I have to sit with parents who've had their children taken from them whilst images, the most appalling images, of abuse are then found on those gentlemen's computers, we can't sit by and do nothing about that."