Britain's spy chief says US tech firms aid terrorism
Britain's spy chief says US tech firms aid terrorism
New GCHQ director Robert Hannigan accuses some Silicon
Valley companies of becoming 'the command and control networks of choice' for
terrorists
By Steven Swinford, Senior Political Correspondent 6:37PM
GMT 03 Nov 2014
Technology giants such as Facebook and Twitter have
become "the command and control networks of choice" for terrorists
and criminals but are "in denial" about the scale of the problem, the
new head of GCHQ has said.
Robert Hannigan said that Isil terrorists in Syria and
Iraq have "embraced the web" and are using it to intimidate people
and inspire "would-be jihadis" from all over the world to join them.
He urged the companies to work more closely with the
security services, arguing that it is time for them to confront "some
uncomfortable truths" and that privacy is not an "absolute
right".
He suggested that unless US technology companies
co-operate, new laws will be needed to ensure that intelligence agencies are
able to track and pursue terrorists.
His comments represent some of the most outspoken
criticism yet of US technology giants by the security services, and come amid
growing tensions following leaks by whistleblower Edward Snowden.
In an article for the Financial Times, Mr Hannigan said:
"I understand why they [US technology companies] have an uneasy
relationship with governments. They aspire to be neutral conduits of data and
to sit outside or above politics.
"But increasingly their services not only host the
material of violent extremism or child exploitation, but are the routes for the
facilitation of crime and terrorism.
"However much they may dislike it, they have become
the command-and-control networks of choice for terrorists and criminals, who
find their services as transformational as the rest of us.
"GCHQ is happy to be part of a mature debate on
privacy in the digital age. But privacy has never been an absolute right and
the debate about this should not become a reason for postponing urgent and
difficult decisions."
Mr Hannigan took on the role of director of GCHQ last
month after a distinguished career as a senior diplomat. He was appointed to
the role in the wake of the Snowden scandal to help bolster the public profile
of the organisation and take a more active role in the debate about its work.
He highlighted the eruption of extremist jihadi material
online on websites such as Twitter, Facebook and Whatsapp, and said that
terrorists are now able to hide their identities using encryption tools which
were once only available to states.
He said that in the past, al-Qaida and its terrorists
have used the internet as a place to anonymously distribute material or
"meet in dark spaces".
Isil, however, has taken a much more direct approach,
using social networking services to get their messages across in a
"language their peers understand".
He highlighted the production values of videos in which
they attack towns, fire weapons and detonate explosives, saying that they have
a "self-conscious online gaming quality".
He said that even the groups grotesque videos of
beheadings highlight the sophistication of their use of social media.
"This time the 'production values' were high and the videos stopped short
of showing the actual beheading," he said.
"They have realised that too much graphic violence
can be counter productive in their target audience and that by self-censoring
they can stay just the right side of the rules of social media sites,
capitalising on western freedom of expression."
He highlighted the use of popular terms on Twitter to
broaden their appeal such as World Cup and Ebola. He said that during the
advance on Mosul in Iraq the jihadists were sending 40,000 tweets a day.
Their cause has been helped by Mr Snowden as they copy
his high level of encryption, with some programmes and apps even advertised as
"Snowden approved". He said: "There is no doubt that young foreign
fighters have learned and benefited from the leaks of the past two years".
Mr Hannigan said that families have "strong
views" about the ethics of companies and do not expect the social networks
they use to "facilitate murder or child abuse".
The Conservatives are pushing for a communications Bill
to give the security services greater access to internet communications. The
move has been blocked by the Liberal Democrats.
Mr Hannigan said: "For our part, intelligence
agencies such as GCHQ need to enter the public debate about privacy. I think we
have a good story to tell.
"As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the
spectacular creation that is the world wide web, we need a new deal between
democratic governments and the technology companies in the area of protecting
our citizens.
"It should be a deal rooted in the democratic values
we share. That means addressing some uncomfortable truths. Better to do it now
than in the aftermath of greater violence."
Facebook rules state that organisations with a record of
terrorist or violent criminal activity are not allowed to “maintain a presence”
on the social network or post content in support of terrorist groups.
The company, which has declined to make an official
statement, says it already works with law enforcement agencies and will
disclose information either in good faith if it will prevent harm or upon court
order.
Other US internet companies including Google, Twitter and
Microsoft declined to comment.
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