Big brother watch su Cameron

L'organizzazione britannica per i diritti civili Big Brother watch ha commentato le parole di Cameron, che oggi ha affermato che i social media come Twitter, in mano a bande organizzate, possono diventare dei pericoli. "Mr Speaker, everyone watching these horrific actions will be stuck by how they were organised via social media. Free flow of information can be used for good. But it can also be used for ill. And when people are using social media for violence we need to stop them".

Cameron ha anche detto che per questo il governo lavora con polizia e intelligence per verificare quando sia opportuno interrompere questo flusso di comunicazioni. Per limitare, insomma, l'accesso ai social media.


Big brother watch risponde che - a parte il fatto che "Blackberry Messenger is not a social network, the Whitehall response of blaming social media and BBM for the riots is only made worse by their proposed solution – let us see everything, or shut it down.

It’s a further sign of how inadequate the police’s intelligence gathering remains when so much of the discussion between those involved in the disorder took place in public forums.

To shut down social networking would require both shutting down the internet and mobile phone comms. Whether that is even possible, and ignoring the enormous economic impact it would have, the fact it is being considered should send a chill wind through the whole country.

Civil unrest – and indeed wars between nations – began, and were organised, long before modern technology. Technology facilitates faster action, but the underlying issues remain the same.