Tory MP Louise Mensch calls for blackout of facebook and twitter

This post was written by Reuben on August 11, 2011
Posted Under: Uncategorized

Tory MP Louise Mensch has called for facebook and twitter to be shut down, to prevent people spreading “fear” about the riots.

“If in a major national emergency police think twitter and FB should take an hour off? So be it”, she tweeted. She went on to say ” I don’t have a problem with a brief shut down of social media just as I don’t have a problem with the police shutting with a brief road or rail closure”. “Social Media” she said, “isn’t any more important than a a road or a train station and we don’t have a problem with the police shutting those”.

Honestly, what enormous, authoritarian stupidity. If she thinks that the police enjoying the power to shut down a medium of verbal expression is in any way equivalent to them having a the power to shut down a train station, she really needs to read up on the basics of a free society. Freedom of the railways is not fundamental to a democracy, freedom of speech is.

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To contact Reuben email reuben@thethirdestate.net


Reader Comments

wallt235

Hey, Ruben! You fucking kike faggot! You are proof that although the holohoax is the biggest lie of the 20th century, it’s a damn good idea! Kikes need to be rounded up and killed slowly and painfully. Your fat kike ass should be at the head of the line!

Kikes are the maggots of the human race and should be treated as such!

#1 
Written By wallt235 on August 12th, 2011 @ 2:51 am
Heather

Considering the police were making very good use of twitter to inform people of what was going on and gather information, suspect they don’t share her opinion.

#2 
Written By Heather on August 12th, 2011 @ 10:50 am
Wakey

As I pointed out to her and she refused to acknowledge closing Social Media isn’t like closing a train station. A train station closure is localised to the area of trouble but a Social Media blackout would almost certainly mean it would need to be countrywide. People hundreds of miles from the event would be prevented from legitimate usege of SocialNetworks,uses that include earning a living. Wit trouble kicking off at 4pm a dgoing through the night that would mean blackout would be required from early afternoon until the next morning to be effective.

#3 
Written By Wakey on August 12th, 2011 @ 10:54 am
Patrick

This is not like shutting down a single railway station, this is like shutting down the whole rail network because of one incident.

#4 
Written By Patrick on August 12th, 2011 @ 10:54 am
Wakey

As I pointed out to her and she refused to acknowledge closing Social Media isn’t like closing a train station. A train station closure is localised to the area of trouble but a Social Media blackout would almost certainly mean it would need to be countrywide. People hundreds of miles from the event would be prevented from legitimate usege of SocialNetworks,uses that include earning a living. Wit trouble kicking off at 4pm and going through the night that would mean a blackout would be required from early afternoon until the next morning to be effective.

#5 
Written By Wakey on August 12th, 2011 @ 10:55 am
the brewer

wallt235 is entitled to his opinion, and his post shouldn’t be deleted, in the interests of free speech. I would add, in the interests of free speech, that he comes across as a drooling neanderthal, but hey, that’s only my opinion.

#6 
Written By the brewer on August 12th, 2011 @ 10:58 am
Abbie

Facebook and twitter are very easy to trace, surely it would make more sense to use them to keep people updated AND find the perpetrators? Someone tried to insight a riot in Glasgow using facebook and he got vanned before anything happened. Also, facebook was used to organize the clean up.

The main mode of communication used was blackberry messenger which is an encrypted system. Not only was it hard to trace but it went straight to the device. That’s how these thugs organized. It would make more sense to shut BBM down than twitter and facebook, as the later could be used to identify people.

Just another MP making kneejerk claims on a situation she didn’t fully understand.

#7 
Written By Abbie on August 12th, 2011 @ 11:02 am
Simon

We should NEVER give in to fear at the cost of our social freedoms the moment we do that the moment they’ve won. The sad thing is I can see it happening more and more people are willing to lose their rights in exchange for so called safety.

#8 
Written By Simon on August 12th, 2011 @ 11:12 am
james metcalf

Yes let’s follow the likes of China and ban freedom of speech! Nice one Louise, very clever of you to gain some more free press!!

#9 
Written By james metcalf on August 12th, 2011 @ 11:30 am
Dave

The difference between roads and social media is that the roads in the UK are sovereign territory, whereas the UK has zero jurisdiction over US web sites.

Stick to writing trashy novels under pseudonyms, and stop misusing parliamentary privilege and illegal substances.

#10 
Written By Dave on August 12th, 2011 @ 1:28 pm
SirBob

Apart from the sheer idiocy of the concept, she fails to realise that unlike closing a road or railway station, where physical barriers may work, you can’t just close twitter. Sure, they could block access and exactly how long would it take for the internet to find a way round that?

#11 
Written By SirBob on August 12th, 2011 @ 2:15 pm
Anna

The scary thing about Louise’s statement is some people might agree with her and try to affect what she advocated. This is totally against our democratic rights. 1. The freedom of speech 2. Freely elected MP’s serving the people, we’re not under a dictatorship, we’re part of the western world ain’t we. Our brave soldiers are fighting to protect us from terrorism and dictators in foreign countries, while thugs are now terrorising the country and our elected advocating dictatorships!!! Come on people wake up, look at what is happening to this green and pleasent land. There are folks out there who envy us, envy our freedom and are deperately trying to get here. All we portray now is we are violent with no reguard for others, its sheer lunacy and so sad.

#12 
Written By Anna on August 12th, 2011 @ 2:21 pm
Bingo

Just like in Egypt or Iran, eh?

#13 
Written By Bingo on August 12th, 2011 @ 2:31 pm
Owen C

You’ve got to love the Tory party, the murderous, thieving bastards.

#14 
Written By Owen C on August 12th, 2011 @ 4:26 pm

Perhaps the salaries of all MPs should have been stopped when a “few” of them – what proportion was it? – overclaimed on expenses.

British people live in a democracy. Sometimes things go wrong in democracies. When that happened in Norway recently the Prime Minister there – a true democrat and parliamentarian – said we will oppose terrorism with more opennenss.

We will oppose those rioting with brooms and community spirit.
An also with those who participated in teh looting turning themselves in and admiting they did something wrong.

Does Ms Mensch know that Britian is one of the most divided societies in Europe? REpression will not make things better, the fact that an MP from the main party of government can suggest closure of Facebook and Twitter shows how bankrupt UK politics is.

#15 
Written By Jane on August 12th, 2011 @ 5:44 pm

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