# British Prime Minister attempting to ban social media sites **URL:** \ **Category:** Shift518 Off Topic\ **Created:** [August 12, 2011, 9:58am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/british-prime-minister-attempting-to-ban-social-media-sites/259932 "2011-08-12T09:58:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cossey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Cossey](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Cossey)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 9:58am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/british-prime-minister-attempting-to-ban-social-media-sites/259932/1 "2011-08-12T09:58:13Z")
Facebook, Twitter, etc… may not have a spot in Chin… Err… Great Britain pretty soon. [http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/social.media/08/11/london.riots.social.media/index.html?iref=NS1](http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/social.media/08/11/london.riots.social.media/index.html?iref=NS1) > (CNN) – British Prime Minister David Cameron thinks he’s found some culprits to blame in the recent riots that have rocked London and other cities – Facebook and Twitter. > > Saying the “free flow of information” can sometimes be a problem, Cameron’s government has summoned those two social-networking sites, as well as Research In Motion, makers of the BlackBerry, for a meeting to discuss their roles during the violent outbreaks. > > “Everyone watching these horrific actions will be struck by how they were organized via social media,” Cameron said Thursday during an address to Parliament. “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 that government officials are working with authorities “to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality.” > > More than 1,200 people have been arrested nationwide, Cameron told lawmakers. One estimate found that UK retailers lost more than than £100 million ($161 million) in stolen goods and property damage over four nights of rioting. > The defining image of London riots > Behind the scenes of UK riot reporting > UK activist blames classism for riots > London to hold night court sessions > > Cameron, a Conservative, seems to have support for a potential crackdown, even from members of the opposition Labor Party. > > “Free speech is central to our democracy, but so is public safety and security,” said Ivan Lewis, the shadow secretary of culture in the House of Commons, according to London’s Guardian newspaper. “We support the government’s decision to undertake a review of whether measures are necessary to prevent the abuse of social media by those who organize and participate in criminal activities.” > > Home Secretary Theresa May has called for meetings with the three companies in the coming weeks, according to British media. > > Many UK rioters reportedly used BlackBerry Messenger, a free, private instant-messaging tool, to organize. A recent survey found that 37% of British teens prefer BlackBerrys to other smartphones. > > Twitter and Facebook have been used as well, although those sites also have been used to organize cleanup efforts and calls for peace in the wake of riots that started in London’s Tottenham district on Saturday after police shot and killed a man. > > Representatives of Facebook and Twitter said they’re happy to meet with the government, although both would presumably object to being censored or shut down in the UK. > > Twitter has said it has no intention to block accounts or delete posts, while Facebook has said publicly that it already shut down pages that explicitly incited violence. > > Research in Motion’s Inside BlackBerry blog was hacked Tuesday after the Canadian smartphone maker suggested it would cooperate with London police to help identify rioters who may have used BlackBerrys to plan mayhem. > > Open-Web and free-speech advocates immediately objected to Cameron’s language. > > “It may be tempting to smother that kind of speech when a government feels it is under siege, as Britain seems to feel that it is,” wrote Matthew Ingram of tech blog GigaOm. “But doing this represents nothing less than an attack on the entire concept of freedom of speech, and that has some frightening consequences for any democracy.” > > Ingram questioned whether the government would be cracking down on telephone use or people talking about the unrest at their local pub if social media didn’t exist. “That seems unlikely (although not impossible). But the British government’s apparent willingness to consider shutting down or blocking access to Twitter and BlackBerry’s BBM falls into the same category.” > > On ReadWriteWeb, writer Curt Hopkins said Cameron “joins the long line of powerful men who totally miss the point of social media.” > > “Banning those convicted of crimes from accessing social networks (the idea being that they used such access to organize criminal activities) is no different than banning the same criminals from accessing goose quills and ink pots,” Hopkins wrote. “It will have zero effect on crime, aside from criminalizing social media itself.” ---
**Author:** ![RocketPunch](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/rocketpunch/32/6429_2.png) [@RocketPunch](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/RocketPunch)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 10:05am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/british-prime-minister-attempting-to-ban-social-media-sites/259932/2 "2011-08-12T10:05:20Z")
Looks like democracy is dying a little more everyday. :rofl THAT is exactly what something China would do. There is a reason why all the Chinese Facebook, Google, Twitter, Youtube, Ebay clone site thrive in China, not because people do not really support them, but the Chinese government want to make sure those Chinese site thrive because that way the government will have control over it. ---
**Author:** ![Mafdark](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/mafdark/32/6322_2.png) [@Mafdark](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Mafdark)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 10:11am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/british-prime-minister-attempting-to-ban-social-media-sites/259932/3 "2011-08-12T10:11:21Z")
woah, title completely misleading considering what he is attempting to do. he’s trying to block them only at time of civil unrest, much like all the Arab nations during their protests this spring. Not exactly democratic, but certainly not trying to ban them. ---
**Author:** ![xreaction](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/xreaction/32/6409_2.png) [@xreaction](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/xreaction)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 10:12am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/british-prime-minister-attempting-to-ban-social-media-sites/259932/4 "2011-08-12T10:12:12Z")
How ironic that the British PM praised Facebook and twitter for their roles in the recent uprising in Iran but when his country gets put in the same situation all of a sudden it turns evil. Democracy? What’s that? ---
**Author:** ![Cossey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Cossey](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Cossey)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 10:12am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/british-prime-minister-attempting-to-ban-social-media-sites/259932/5 "2011-08-12T10:12:57Z")
> [@Mafdark"](#): > > woah, title completely misleading considering what he is attempting to do. he’s trying to block them only at time of civil unrest, much like all the Arab nations during their protests this spring. > > Not exactly democratic, but certainly not trying to ban them. Just paraphrasing the title on CNN’s site. ---
**Author:** ![Mafdark](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/mafdark/32/6322_2.png) [@Mafdark](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Mafdark)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 10:18am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/british-prime-minister-attempting-to-ban-social-media-sites/259932/6 "2011-08-12T10:18:50Z")
> [@Ford key made](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/ford-key-made/44569/5): > > How ironic that the British PM praised Facebook and twitter for their roles in the recent uprising in Iran but when his country gets put in the same situation all of a sudden it turns evil. Democracy? What’s that? exactly. Same issue here in the US with the black on white hate crimes and the social networking elicited violent “flashmobs” Granted they just decided to go with curfews rather than looking into blocking any sort of web/cell traffic ---
**Author:** ![RocketPunch](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/rocketpunch/32/6429_2.png) [@RocketPunch](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/RocketPunch)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 10:33am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/british-prime-minister-attempting-to-ban-social-media-sites/259932/7 "2011-08-12T10:33:11Z")
> [@Ford key made](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/ford-key-made/44569/5): > > How ironic that the British PM praised Facebook and twitter for their roles in the recent uprising in Iran but when his country gets put in the same situation all of a sudden it turns evil. Democracy? What’s that? Well, becuse that is not their own government. :rofl It is easy to climb up on a high horse and try to sell democracy to other nation, but when your own country is under threat by your own people, they will just throw those out the window and it’s time to roll in the tanks. ---
**Author:** ![Gundamzeppelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Gundamzeppelin](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Gundamzeppelin)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 12:48pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/british-prime-minister-attempting-to-ban-social-media-sites/259932/8 "2011-08-12T12:48:47Z")
I could have sworn a bill similar to this one in Britain was rejected? Also don’t think this cant happen in America. The government has been trying to pass the internet black list bill for over a year now. ---
**Author:** ![imported\_hybrdthry91](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/imported_hybrdthry91/32/6315_2.png) [@imported\_hybrdthry91](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/imported_hybrdthry91)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 1:00pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/british-prime-minister-attempting-to-ban-social-media-sites/259932/9 "2011-08-12T13:00:36Z")
> [@Mafdark"](#): > > woah, title completely misleading considering what he is attempting to do. he’s trying to block them only at time of **civil unrest** , much like all the Arab nations during their protests this spring. > > Not exactly democratic, but certainly not trying to ban them. Isn’t that the time when free speech is needed most? ---
**Author:** ![Upstate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b3f665/32.png) [@Upstate](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Upstate)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2011, 8:10am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/british-prime-minister-attempting-to-ban-social-media-sites/259932/10 "2011-08-13T08:10:55Z")
> [@Ford key made](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/ford-key-made/44569/5): > > How ironic that the British PM praised Facebook and twitter for their roles in the recent uprising in Iran but when his country gets put in the same situation all of a sudden it turns evil. Democracy? What’s that? HUGE difference. Egypt and Libya were undergoing revolutions aimed at regime change, whereas in Britain right now you just have kids hellbent on causing damage. There’s no political goal that they have other than to destroy property. ---
**Author:** ![xreaction](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/xreaction/32/6409_2.png) [@xreaction](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/xreaction)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2011, 9:01am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/british-prime-minister-attempting-to-ban-social-media-sites/259932/11 "2011-08-13T09:01:34Z")
> [@FS: xbox 360 games](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/fs-xbox-360-games/44190/8): > > HUGE difference. Egypt and Libya were undergoing revolutions aimed at regime change, whereas in Britain right now you just have kids hellbent on causing damage. There’s no political goal that they have other than to destroy property. Did I mention anything about Egypt or Libya? Thanks for playing ---
**Author:** ![Shady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Shady](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Shady)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2011, 10:53am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/british-prime-minister-attempting-to-ban-social-media-sites/259932/12 "2011-08-13T10:53:58Z")
Cosseys taking tips from Fox with his thread titles :lol ---
**Author:** ![Cossey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Cossey](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Cossey)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2011, 11:16am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/british-prime-minister-attempting-to-ban-social-media-sites/259932/13 "2011-08-13T11:16:29Z")
> [@iPhone goes enterprise](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/iphone-goes-enterprise/44542/28): > > Cosseys taking tips from Fox with his thread titles :lol CNN’s title: “British PM proposes social media ban for rioters” It doesn’t matter what the ban reason is for, it is still banning and taking away peoples’ rights. ---
**Author:** ![Vovchandr](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/vovchandr/32/6275_2.png) [@Vovchandr](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Vovchandr)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/british-prime-minister-attempting-to-ban-social-media-sites/259932/14 "2011-08-13T14:23:18Z")
Access to Internet is a human right but content is controlled in every country and google has a lot to do with it. I don’t hear anybody making a big fuss about sites that we don’t have in US? Plus twitter and Facebook? Good riddance :rofl ---
**Author:** ![Upstate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b3f665/32.png) [@Upstate](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Upstate)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/british-prime-minister-attempting-to-ban-social-media-sites/259932/15 "2011-08-13T16:41:14Z")
> [@Mark IV: Any one know of / work for ?](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/mark-iv-any-one-know-of-work-for/44588/2): > > Did I mention anything about Egypt or Libya? > > Thanks for playing You can insert any non-western country you want, the example is still the same. It’s still a major difference between what happened in Iran and the UK as well. ---
**Author:** ![Shady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Shady](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Shady)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2011, 5:07pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/british-prime-minister-attempting-to-ban-social-media-sites/259932/16 "2011-08-13T17:07:15Z")
> [@The Ricer in 2008](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/the-ricer-in-2008/44000/105): > > CNN’s title: > “British PM proposes social media ban for rioters” > > It doesn’t matter what the ban reason is for, it is still banning and taking away peoples’ rights. I never said I dident agree with you, was just LOLing at the thread title being misleading in that it was an outright BAN of the sites. Any sort of internet filtering IMO is horse shit ---
**Author:** ![Vovchandr](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/vovchandr/32/6275_2.png) [@Vovchandr](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Vovchandr)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/british-prime-minister-attempting-to-ban-social-media-sites/259932/17 "2011-08-13T17:17:02Z")
> [@LS9's blower info (ZR1 fior all u domesti-hatorz)](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/ls9s-blower-info-zr1-fior-all-u-domesti-hatorz/44579/7): > > Any sort of internet filtering IMO is horse shit How did you get past the sites member filter? :wow ---
**Author:** ![Shady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Shady](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Shady)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/british-prime-minister-attempting-to-ban-social-media-sites/259932/18 "2011-08-13T20:04:26Z")
> [@Making CF parts](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/making-cf-parts/44584/15): > > How did you get past the sites member filter? :wow :rofl