Government snooping on Facebook condemned by MP
April 7, 2009 10:17 AM
A move which could see the government snooping on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace has been condemned by Cambridge MP David Howarth.
Mr Howarth, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, is backing a Commons' motion which raises concern about the plan which could see users' details included on a Home Office database.
An ardent supporter of the Cambridge N02ID campaign which fights to protect civil liberties, Mr Howarth said: "This is just another example of the government employing Big Brother tactics to erode our personal privacy. It is intent on using every means possible to try to control the lives of law-abiding citizens.
"These social networking sites contain sensitive data on individuals which the government does not have a right to know. And the government has shown time and time again that it does not have the ability to handle large amounts of data without losing it.
"This is an unacceptable invasion of privacy and must not be allowed to happen."
The motion notes that the police can monitor social networking accounts, of those users suspected of having committed a criminal offence, under existing warrant procedures.
The government claims it needs to monitor the sites to target criminal gangs or terrorists who might use them.
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