Ex–spy chief raises social media fears

FEARS of state surveillance of the internet could have a “chilling effect” on the use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter, a former Whitehall intelligence official warned.

Sir David Omand, an ex-Cabinet Office security chief and former director of the GCHQ electronic eavesdropping agency, said it was essential that monitoring of social media was put on a proper legal footing.

A report by the think-tank Demos, which Sir David co-authored, said existing laws regulating the interception of communications by police and intelligence agencies needed to be overhauled to meet the complexities of social media.

While intelligence gathered from social media could be a vital source of information in identifying criminal activity, the report said the public needed to be confident it was not being abused.