INHOPE - Association of Internet Hotline Providers | Our Story

Fighting CSAM
since 1999.

Our Mission

Our mission is to support and enable INHOPE hotlines in the rapid identification and removal of Child Sexual Abuse Material from the digital world.

In a borderless digital world CSAM has global consequences and as CSAM increases so do our efforts and those of our partners to combat it.

Our Vision

INHOPE’s vision is a digital world free of Child Sexual Abuse Material.

Does your organisation align with INHOPE’s vision? If yes, then learn more about our partnerships.

Our Network

INHOPE is made up of hotlines around the world that operate in all EU member states, Russia, South Africa, North & South America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. We support hotlines and their partner organisations through training, best practices, quality assurance and staff welfare.
Our Story

The Issue

INHOPE focuses on responding to criminally illegal content and activity. There are a wide range of illegal activities which occur on the Internet and these are divided into two different types: criminally illegal activity which is investigated and prosecuted by Law Enforcement Agencies and civil illegal activity which can be prosecuted by a wide range of civilian bodies.

Understand what we do:



Run for its Members by its Members!

INHOPE is a members' organisation, run for its members by its members. INHOPE's Board is made up of representatives of INHOPE Association members and are elected by the democratic vote of the members of the INHOPE Association. Each Board Member is registered with the KvK Amsterdam. Each Board member has a term of 2 years and the electoral process is set out in the INHOPE Articles of Association (English translation). Note: only the text of the Dutch notarial deed executed in the Dutch language prevails. Member hotlines have to comply with a Code of Practice.

Members vote to elect a President who leads an elected Executive Committee, also known as the Board which is led by a President and is normally assisted by the Vice-President and the Treasurer, with the remaining Board members holding the title ‘Board member without portfolio’.


Remuneration
The INHOPE organisation is run by a paid professional staff, known as the Secretariat and it is led by the Executive Director who is appointed by the INHOPE Board. INHOPE pays its staff in line with the general Netherlands market salary levels for each role and this is overseen by the Finance & Audit Committee of the INHOPE Board.
The Board
Bernard Y. Kao

Bernard Y. Kao

INHOPE Vice President

Dr. Bernard Y. Kao is Board Member of ECPAT Taiwan and was responsible for founding the hotline in 1999.Since then he has dedicated significant efforts to child protection projects working towards combating child sexual exploitation, child sexual abuse content, and human trafficking.
Robbert Hoving

Robbert Hoving

INHOPE President

Robbert Hoving is the President of Offlimits, an organisation that not only includes the hotline and helpline of the Safer Internet Center in the Netherlands but also works to prevent child sexual abuse with Stop it Now. Before this, he worked for the Dutch National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence against Children, the Public Prosecutor's Service, and started his career in the international hospitality industry.
Paraskevi (Vivi) Fragopoulou

Paraskevi (Vivi) Fragopoulou

INHOPE Treasurer

Paraskevi (Vivi) Fragopoulou is the founder and leader of the Greek Hotline SafeLine operating since 2003, and the Greek Safer Internet Center SaferInternet4Kids. She is a Professor of Computer Science at the Hellenic Mediterranean University and an associate researcher at the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas.
Seila Samleang

Seila Samleang

INHOPE Board Member

Seila Samleang, Executive Director of APLE, is a go-to expert in child protection and online safety. As a certified content analyst within INHOPE, he also serves as a core trainer for national programs. With a Master’s degree in law, Seila is a key member of the National Child Protection Committee. Additionally, he plays a vital role in government policy development and facilitates international collaboration among law enforcement agencies to combat transnational cases of child sexual exploitation.
Sebastian Fitting

Sebastian Fitting

INHOPE Board Member

After completing his legal clerkship, Sebastian Fitting has dedicated his career to child online safety at eco. With over 11 years of experience, including more than a decade as a content analyst addressing illegal online content, he has taken on additional responsibilities such as liaising with law enforcement, leading awareness-raising workshops, and offering legal expertise as a consultant to support hotline operations.
What do you need to know?

Establish a hotline

The starting point for any initiative seeking to establish a hotline will be to understand the particulars of the national context in which the hotline will be developed. Before deciding whether it will be feasible and possible to set up an Internet hotline, it is crucial to understand what an ‘hotline’ is, and what it is not.

Find out more using our hotline development guide.

Meet the Team