[Infowarrior] - UK: Facebook could be monitored by the government

[Richard Forno]

Facebook could be monitored by the government

Facebook, Bebo, MySpace and other social networking websites could be  
monitored by the government in an attempt to tackle internet crime and  
terrorism.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/facebook/5046447/Facebook-could-be-monitored-by-the-government.html

By Murray Wardrop
Last Updated: 1:49PM GMT 25 Mar 2009

The Home Office is considering plans to force such sites to hold data  
about their users' movements to thwart criminals who use them to  
communicate.

The information would then be stored on a central database as part of  
the government's proposed Intercept Modernisation Programme.

The proposal follows plans to retain information about all telephone  
calls, emails, and internet visits made by everyone in Britain through  
a multi-billion pound system.

A European Union statutory order, called the Data Retention Directive,  
already proposes that internet service providers in member states  
store communications and traffic data for one year.

However, Vernon Coaker, Minister of State for policing, crime and  
security, has told MPs that it does not go far enough.

Mr Coaker told a Commons Committee: "Social-networking sites, such as  
MySpace or Bebo, are not covered by the directive.

"That is one reason why the government are looking at what we should  
do about the Intercept Modernisation Programme (IMP), because there  
are certain aspects of communications which are not covered by the  
directive."

The news has outraged civil liberties groups who claim that the plans  
would excessively pry into the lives of law abiding citizens.

Around 25 million people in Britain – almost half the population – are  
thought to use social networking sites, with Facebook boasting 17  
million British users.

Bebo, which is aimed predominantly at teenagers and young adults, is  
estimated to have a following of around 10 million Britons.

The disclosure of the plans was made during exchanges between Mr  
Coaker and Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Tom Brake.

Mr Coaker acknowledged the controversy surrounding the proposed  
database but confirmed that the plans "may include requiring the  
retention of data on Facebook, Bebo, MySpace, and all other similar  
sites".

He added: "I accept this is an extremely difficult area. The interface  
between retaining data, private security and all such issues of  
privacy is extremely important.

"It is absolutely right to point out the difficulty of ensuring we  
maintain a capability and a capacity to deal with crime and issues of  
national security and where that butts up against issues of privacy."

Isabella Sankey, policy director of the civil rights pressure group  
Liberty, said: "Even before you throw Facebook and other social  
networking sites into the mix, the proposed telecommunications databas  
is a terrifying prospect.

"It would allow the government to record every email, text message and  
phone call and would turn millions of innocent Britons into permanent  
suspects."

The Home Office has defended the proposals, stressing that the  
government was not seeking the power to examine the content of  
messages sent via the sites.

A spokesman said: "The Government has no interest in the content of  
people's social network sites and this is not going to be part of our  
forthcoming consultation.

"We have been clear that communications revolution has been rapid in  
this country and the way in which we collect communications data needs  
to change so that law enforcement agencies can maintain their ability  
to tackle terrorism and gather evidence.

"To ensure that we keep up with technological advances we intend to  
consult widely on proposals shortly. We have been very clear that  
there are no plans for a database containing the content of emails,  
texts, conversations or social networking sites."

The IMP is a multi-billion pound project, which aims to build new  
databases capable of storing vast amounts of computer data as part of  
the fight against terrorism.