The disturbing levels of chaos and violence in the London Riots have been widely attributed to social networking in the media. Namely, BlackBerry Messaging (BBM) has been seen as one of the major causes of the display of violence throughout London and greater England last week, as users organised specific times and places for criminal activity, encouraging a great disruption in communities.
That BlackBerry Messaging is encrypted, and information being transferred via this social medium is not as accessible to authorities, has been a key cause for the use of BBM in inciting violence in the riots. 2 men were sentenced to 4 years in jail for organising riots and civil unrest which led to the London 2011 riots.
Critics have argued that this is an unfair sentence, however authorities are saying that they are merely "sending a warning to the masses in the aftermath of unrelated riots in which technology played a role." (LA Times 2011) The influence of social media on masses in organising criminal activity is not a matter that will be taken lightly, it has been learned since the breaking out of the riots.
References:
The LA Times 2011, '2 British Men sentenced for encouraging rioting on Facebook', August 17
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/08/2-men-in-uk-get-4-years-in-jail-for-setting-up-facebook-groups-to-start-riots.html
Prodhan, G & Sharp, A 2011, 'London riots: MP calls for BlackBerry Messenger block', Sydney Morning Herald, 10 August
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