UK riots: the questions social media giants need to answer

Social networks are to face a questioning from ministers over their role in the UK riots – could they do more to stop unrest? Facebook, Twitter and BlackBerry to face questioning at riot summit David Cameron, speaking in the aftermath of this month’s riots , said that he wanted to know “whether it would be right” to ban people from using Facebook, Twitter or their BlackBerrys “when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality’. Tomorrow, Facebook, Twitter and BlackBerry maker RIM prepare to head into the Home Office to discuss with Teresa May over how they can help stop rioting and violent disorder ( read here for more information ). What should be the right response? Here’s a few questions to stimulate discussion. • Should Facebook, Twitter and BlackBerry Messenger be restricted or shut down in times of civil disorder? Do the police gather valuable information by allowing the services to stay up and running – or is it true that without them it would not be possible to plot violence on the scale seen this month? • Can all three networks, and in particular the private Blackberry Messenger, do more to help the police? Could Facebook be more active in pages that incite violence or from groups connected to violence? Could Twitter do more to delete inflammatory tweets, or simply prevent them from being published? • Should Facebook, Twitter and RIM give the police privileged access to their networks at times of civil disorder, or help law enforcement by providing more real-time data analysis that could help the police prevent rioting? • Should mobile phone companies monitor phone calls in a riot situation – or be prepared to scan for inflammatory text messages sent over their networks? Can they be more responsive to the police in riot situations, without waiting for warrants to provide information about their customers? • Should people who incite violent disorder be subject to four-year jail terms, or similar stiff sentences, as were handed down by Chester crown court to two men who posted messages on Facebook encouraging other people to riot in their home towns ? Should writing a few words on a computer or mobile at home be as serious as encouraging people to disorder in the streets? Let us know what you think below, or on Twitter using the hashtag #riotresponse Social networking Digital media Facebook Twitter BlackBerry Mobile phones Internet Theresa May UK riots Dan Sabbagh guardian.co.uk

Posted by on August 24, 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.