London's Burning

[DanaC]

What i really hate, is the way the government is leaping on this as an opportunity to bring in even more anti-civil liberties legislation and police powers.

The idea that at times of 'civil unrest' the state would have the power and right to close down access to social media is a frightening one.

I also don't like the precedent being set here for evicting whole families as a response to the actions of individual members of those families (wtf have the younger or older siblings of a rioter done to deserve eviction as a punishment?). And indeed the precedent of serving eviction notices to those guilty of riot and disorder is itself a dangerous one, even if only aimed at the individuals concerned. There's some talk of extending this to legally enforcable fines levied against homeowners and taken off the equity of their homes.

Setting aside the moral questions of whether or not it is just to punish entire families for the actions of individuals, what about the potential for abusing that precedent? The line between legitimate protest and public disorder is often a fine one, and most riots are more founded in legitimate protest than the recent spate (as has been pointed out by many). The weapon this potentially puts into the hands of the state against dissatisfied and angry sectors of the community is a large one.