Home Sec Won't Shut Network Sites Over Riots

The Government will not "seek any additional powers" to close down BlackBerry, Facebook or Twitter messaging networks after the recent riots.

Executives from the social networks met the Home Secretary Theresa May after suggestions that the sites should be shut down during such public disturbances to prevent trouble spreading.

Over 2,000 suspects have now been arrested over the trouble in London and 1,135 charged.

Services such as BlackBerry Messenger - which allows users to send free-of-charge real-time messages - were said to have enabled looters and troublemakers to organise their movements during the recent riots, leaving no paper trail.

After the riots, Prime Minister David Cameron told MPs the Government was speaking to the industry and police to establish how to stop the internet being a tool for troublemakers to organise disruption.

But in contrast to his hints a fortnight ago, the Government has confirmed it will not be chasing more powers.

Taking control of networks, run by companies based outside the UK, could have proved technically challenging - and drawn unwelcome comparisons with repressive regimes abroad.

A Home Office spokesperson said it had been a "constructive meeting".

"The Home Secretary, along with the Culture Secretary and Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne, has held a constructive meeting with Acpo, the police and representatives from the social media industry," the spokesperson said.

"The discussions looked at how law enforcement and the networks can build on the existing relationships and cooperation to crack down on the networks being used for criminal behaviour.

"The government did not seek any additional powers to close down social media networks."

Delegates from Facebook, Twitter and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion were joined by Lynne Owens, assistant commissioner of central operations at the Metropolitan Police.

A Facebook spokeswoman said: "We welcome the fact that this was a dialogue about working together to keep people safe rather than about imposing new restrictions on internet services.

"We were pleased to highlight our array of effective reporting tools and the relationships we have built with law enforcement to keep the site safe for the 30m people in the UK use Facebook - especially during times of crisis.

"We were also able to revisit the positive role Facebook played during the riots - from letting friends and family know they are safe to helping facilitate local clean-up operations.

"There is no place for illegal activity on Facebook and we take firm action against those who breach our rules," she added.

The company pointed out that some of its sites - Supporting The Met Police Against The London Rioters, for example - had received nearly one million "likes".

Paul Lewis, a Guardian journalist who has examined the role of social network, has argued the positives outweighed the negatives.

Many people used the sites to avoid trouble rather than coordinate it, he has suggested.

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