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Implementation
net 801 – require other interventions, such as a criminal investigation or an intervention originating
from welfare services, see §3.6.
Public-private sector partnerships can also be found within the software industry. An example of this
is the previously-mentioned PhotoDNA. Commercial filter programmes that make use of existing child
pornography databases from the police and hotlines are also on the market. Such products – examples
of situational prevention – are aimed at places of work and hotels, for example, in order to combat child
pornography in those environments. 802
Habbo
Habbo is an international online game chatting community owned by Sulake, a Finnish company.
Habbo is a very large virtual community for young people in the Netherlands, attracting 1.2 million
unique visitors each month. Habbo is mainly aimed at children between the ages of 12 and 18. In
order to take part, you need to create a ‘Habbo’: a virtual character with which you walk around a
hotel. 803 In order to provide a safe online environment for the Habbos, the company uses a combination
of social and physical safety. Members under the age of 16 need their parent’s permission.
Moderators 804 are present seven days a week. The moderators are able to issue a warning to
members who violate the rules, remove them from a room or, if necessary, remove them from the
Internet environment. An account or IP can be blocked in order to prevent unwanted individuals
from gaining access. ‘Habbos’ also have the opportunity to alert a moderator. Moderators can
also follow users’ chat messages without the users being aware of this. If necessary, Habbo refers
children who make a report to the correct institutions. Habbo is then able to provide the involved
institutions with chat logs and IP addresses. All conversations in the hotel run through a language
filter before they appear on screen. This filters out sexual remarks and other unsuitable use of
language, and moderators are warned in the event of suspicious use of language. The intention
behind this application is to safeguard the safety of the Habbos. 805 In addition to this, Habbo
provides its users with information about the safe use of the Internet in general, and about the
safe use of Habbo in particular. The intention behind this provision of information is to increase
social safety. 806 Habbo works together with other parties quite a lot, by means of an ‘infobus’,
where partners from the cooperating organisations can find the answers to any questions that
they may have. The Hotline Combating <strong>Child</strong> <strong>Pornography</strong> on the Internet and the police are examples
of parties that make use of this service. The police carry out surveillance of Habbo Hotel
in this manner (see box below).
801 ‘More than 200 children identified and rescued in worldwide rescue operation’, Europol, 16 March 2011,
see www.europol.europa.eu/content/press/more-200-children-identified-and-rescued-worldwide-police-operation-465
(viewed 19 August 2011).
802 See for example www.netclean.com/eng/ (viewed 27 May 2011).
803 Verbal information during the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Rapporteur</strong> on Trafficking in Human Beings’ visit to Habbo on
21 April 2010.
804 ‘Moderators’ are paid supervisors.
805 Written information received from the community co-ordinator of Habbo on 23 August 2011.
806 www.habbo.nl.
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