The British government is considering preventing people from communicating via certain websites and services as authorities continue to grapple with looting and other lawlessness across the nation.
In a statement Thursday to the House of Commons, British Prime Minister David Cameron recognized the value of social media, but said it can be used to foster violence.
“Mr. Speaker, everyone watching these horrific actions will be struck by how they were organized via social media," Cameron said. “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 said the government is working with the police, intelligence services and industry to consider “whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know how they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality."
The prime minister did not single out any websites or services, such as BlackBerry, Facebook or Twitter.
But earlier this week, hackers attacked a website belonging to Research in Motion after the company suggested it would cooperate with London police to help authorities identify rioters who may have used a BlackBerry messaging service to plan the bedlam. Several news reports say U.K. rioters have organized through RIM’s BlackBerry Messenger, a free instant messaging tool.
The rioting that occurred in poorer sections of London over the weekend has struck other cities, developing into an enormous crisis for the British government and authorities.
“The whole country has been shocked by the most appalling scenes of people looting, violence, vandalizing and thieving," Cameron said.
A week ago, a 29-year-old man, Mark Duggan, was shot dead by police in Tottenham. There were some initial peaceful demonstrations after Duggan’s passing, but his death was later “used as an excuse by opportunistic thugs in gangs, first in Tottenham itself, then across London and then in other cities," Cameron said.
“The young people stealing flat-screen televisions and burning shops was not about politics or protest, it was about theft," the prime minister said. “The police faced lawbreaking on the streets on a scale not seen for decades."
Cameron said the Met Police have increased the number of officers on the streets of London from 6,000 to nearly 16,000, and more than 1,500 individuals already have been arrested across the country. Some courts have been in session throughout the night as part of an effort to restore order.
