British Prime Minister David Cameron has told Parliament that he is investigating whether to stop people communicating via social networking sites if they are known to be planning criminal activity.

He said to the House of Commons Thursday: “Free flow of information can be used for good. But it can also be used for ill. So we are working with the Police, the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality.”

In the statement he released to the media before he spoke to Parliament, he also said: “when people are using social media for violence we need to stop them.”

When he was later challenged to increase the headcount of police on the streets, he replied that the focus should be on whether “to give the police the technology to trace people on Twitter or BBM or close it down” before talking about police resources.

He added: ”The key thing is that the police were facing a new circumstance where rioters were using BBM — a closed network — so they knew where they were going to loot next. We’ve got to examine that and know how to keep up with them.”

Quite how this would work on a practical level is somewhat baffling, but a number of people have already been arrested in Lancashire and Essex for posting Facebook messages inciting criminal damage.

It wasn’t all bad for technology. Cameron said “we are making technology work for us, by capturing the images of the perpetrators on CCTV — so even if they haven’t yet been arrested, their faces are known and they will not escape the law.” Presumably he is referring to initiatives such as the Metropolitan Police uploading photos of suspected looters to its Flickr account.

“No phoney human rights concerns about publishing photos will get in the way of bringing these criminals to justice,” he added.

When asked about the need to clamp down on people who spread false rumors across the internet, Cameron recognized the need for police to be better technologically equipped. He said: “Just as police have been using technology more effectively, so have criminals.” He mentioned hoaxes, false trails on Twitter and BlackBerry Messenger. “There needs to be a major piece of work to ensure that police have all the electronic capabilities to hunt down and beat the criminal,” he added.

One voice of reason was from Liberal Democrat Julian Huppert who said that social networks are also used to mobilise people for good purposes, such as the clean up operation and that “clamping down” on them could have serious negative consequences. However, Cameron reiterated the need to give the police the tools to monitor social media activity.

He continued: ”This is not about poverty, it’s about culture. A culture that glorifies violence, shows disrespect to authority, and says everything about rights but nothing about responsibilities.”

“It’s time for our country to pull together. To the law abiding people who play by the rules, and who are the overwhelming majority in this country, I say the fightback has begun, we will protect you, if you’ve had your livelihood and property damaged, we will compensate you. We are on your side.”

He issued a sternly worded warning to the lawless minority: “We will track you down, we will find you, we will charge you, we will punish you. You will pay for what you have done.”

Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP