Dissident republicans using Facebook to identify police in Northern Ireland

PSNI looking into whether web page encouraging others to share images of officers compromises their safety Dissident republicans are using Facebook to help identify and share information about police officers in Northern Ireland, sparking fears for their safety. Republicans living in the dissident strongholds of Tyrone and Derry have posted images and personal details of officers serving in the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) on a Facebook page, claiming that the pictures show officers “harassing republicans”. The page encourages others to post more images and information about other police operations in the north of Ireland. The PSNI said it was aware of the site and was looking into whether it compromises the personal security of their officers. During the Troubles, broadcasters covering the conflict voluntarily kept the faces of officers out of television news reports. Those on the beat were filmed from behind, or at angles obscuring their face, in order to preclude terror groups using the pictures to identify targets for murder. Senior officers in the Royal Ulster Constabulary (the PSNI’s predecessor) did often appear in front of cameras, but the de facto ban on facial pictures continued right up to the 1994 IRA ceasefire, when the situation relaxed. However, since the upsurge in dissident terror activity over the last two years, the voluntary censorship has returned. Social networking sites have been used by dissident republicans in the propaganda war. YouTube came under fire two years ago after it emerged that the Real IRA and Continuity IRA were posting videos praising their violent campaigns. Individuals unconnected to terror groups but who hold extreme opinions have found themselves in Northern Irish courts for misuse of websites. Last week, a Derry man was fined after making threatening remarks on Facebook directed at East Derry Democratic Unionist MP Gregory Campbell. Northern Ireland Police Northern Irish politics Henry McDonald guardian.co.uk

Posted by on August 4, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.