The self-appointed guardians of the UK internet business, the Internet Service Providers Association, have announced their nominations for Heroes and Villains for 2006.

Heroes in the fight against child porn include the Home Secretary’s Task Force for Child Protection on the Internet for trying to make the internet a nice place for children, as well as the Secretary General of the ISPA for his involvement with that organisation as well as setting up the Internet Watch Foundation.

Vodafone’s Global Head of Content Standards, Annie Mullins, is up as a general Hero for her work with the Task Force for Child Protection on the Internet as well as the specific anti-child-porn award for Vodafone’s content blocking policies.

Ofcom and the European Union are both nominated as Heroes for failing to pass restrictive legislation: Television without Frontiers in the case of Ofcom, and the EU’s stance on gaming legislation.

Villains include the British Phonographic Industry for trying to get the names and addresses of internet users out of ISPs, and the US Government for their cackhanded enforcement of gambling regulations.

The full lists (http://www.ispaawards.org.uk/newsreleases/Awardsrelease040107.htm) do reflect the mandate of the ISPA to promote self-regulation and prevent governments getting involved in the freewheeling internet business, so alternative suggestions are welcomed.

The winners of the ISPA Awards will be announced on February 15.®

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