There has been unrest in England for some time now. What started in London later spread to Birmingham, Peckham, Liverpool, Leicester, Wolverhampton, and other cities. It began with a demonstration and has escalated into organized crime in the form of looting, riots, and arson. Now, social media is supposed to help put an end to this.
The government is now enlisting the help of the British intelligence service (MI5) and secret service (GCHQ). The troublemakers are in frequent contact with each other via Blackberry Messenger and other social media. Using ping messages, they arrange locations or warn each other about the police.
The secret service can intercept messages sent via Blackberry Messenger. This allows them to determine where potential new riots or looting are going to take place. Subsequently, the intelligence service, in cooperation with the police, will attempt to identify the owners of the phones. These individuals may then be arrested.
Prime Minister James Cameron is considering banning troublemakers from social media. He also announced that Theresa May (Home Secretary) will be talking to Facebook, Twitter, and Blackberry (RIM) about their responsibilities.
I am curious what concrete steps England will take against social media and what the effect of this will be.