The ongoing London riots are creating a chaos beyond expectation; the natural use of various social media such as Twitter or Facebook by observers and participants alike, gives an interesting meaning to the words “Police State“.
According to BBC News, Police in Essex have arrested a 17-year-old boy after comments were made on Facebook allegedly encouraging others to meet in the county and riot. A spokesman for the Police stated:
“Police are monitoring social networks and will take decisive action to prevent people using them for criminal purposes.”
Meanwhile, Research In Motion – the company operating the Blackberry network – was targeted by hackers after it announced that it will cooperate with the UK Police to help bring individuals involved in the London riots to justice.
It all comes to show that one cannot say or do things in public, using social media and expect not to be held liable for their actions. The Law has a long arm that reaches well beyond the supposed anonymity of the Internet.
