UK lawmakers: Most radicalism linked to Internet

3:19 AM, Feb 6, 2012   |    comments
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LONDON -- A report from British lawmakers says the Internet has become an important factor in nurturing the threat of extremism, surpassing universities and prisons as a place where dangerous ideas are developed and traded.

The lawmakers say Internet service providers should do more to prevent the web from playing a role in promoting violent extremism.

But civil liberties campaigners slammed the suggestion, saying courts - not "unaccountable officials" - should decide when to block online content. They say the level of monitoring required would be a "significant invasion" of privacy.

The report from the Home Affairs Committee follows a nine-month investigation.

Britain has been involved in a number of terror plots since 2005, including 52 people killed that year in synchronized attacks on London's transit system.

 

(Associated Press)