And in other news, guns are to blame for killing people.

In a rather bizarre twist, as the UK government and security forces attempt to make sense of the wave of violent rioting and looting that swept across major UK cities this week, Prime Minister, David Cameron, called into question the role social networking platforms, such as Blackberry’s BBM (Blackberry Messaging) facility might have played in stirring up unrest that saw millions of pounds worth of damage caused to property around the UK.

BBM is an encrypted service, owned and operated by Blackberry manufacturer, Research In Motion, who refuse to allow governments and security forces access to their clients private messages. In response to the rioting, the London Mayor’s office criticised the company in the media for not shutting down the service when it emerged that the naughty chavs might have been BBM’ing pictures, text and video of their exploits to each other and the world.

Needless to say, the idea that technology enables criminal behaviour is not new, but it doesn’t automatically mean that government should be able to invade your privacy on the off-chance you might be planning to hold up the local convenience store. Or does it?

While phone-hacking in the media is still a hot topic in the UK, our American friends know the debate over governmental rights to invade privacy all too well. Two words: Patriot Act.

[Source: BBC, The Huffington Post, Daily Mail]