Extremist websites is ‘gold mine’ for spooks: Experts

Western Govts are increasingly unwilling to close or filter extremist websites,viewing them instead as an intelligence 'gold mine' on terrorist activities.

Western governments are increasingly unwilling to close or filter extremist websites,viewing them instead as an intelligence “gold mine” on terrorist activities,experts say.

“Almost all Western governments are thinking along the same lines that it’s better to monitor these (sites) than to try to censor everything on the Internet,” said Dr Peter Neumann,director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR).

He spoke to AFP on the sidelines of the two-day Conference on Terrorism and Cyber Security which concludes Friday in El Escorial,outside Madrid,under the auspices of the Council of Europe human rights body and the Organisation of American States.

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Raphael Perl,head of the Action Against Terrorism Unit of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe,said extremist websites and forums have now become a “gold mine” of information for intelligence agencies.

“Governments are trying to maximise their efforts to use the Internet as a source of intelligence gathering on terrorists,particularly Al-Qaeda,” he said.

“But of course this has human rights implications too,as not everyone who is monitored is necessarily a terrorist.” Mike Smith,the head of the UN Counter Terrorism Committee,agreed.

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