Scottish Daily Mail

If Google can track my pants, why can’t they nail the jihadis?

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THe price we pay for the convenienc­e of the internet is an inevitable loss of privacy. Short of moving into a cave and communicat­ing by carrier pigeon, there’s no escape. They know where you live, your age, your sex, what you like and what you don’t. Facebook alone collects 98 separate facts about everyone who uses it.

Apart from the obvious, they can also divine where you went to school, how much you earn, your credit rating, when you’re on holiday, your political affiliatio­ns, even where you stood on brexit.

They can track all the websites you’ve ever visited and everything you’ve ever bought online, from airline tickets to Rampant Rabbits. It’s why I don’t use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Tinder or Grindr.

(Although I am thinking of launching an iPhone app called Mindr, which will feature classic clips from Minder and a virtual tour of the Winchester Club. Swipe left and you can order a large VAT wherever you are in the world. Users will also be able to check memorable quotes and characters against the episode they appeared in, as well as gaining instant access to the trade price of a previously owned, low-mileage, 1983 Ford Granada Ghia.)

I’ve never understood people who want to put every detail of their lives on the world wide web, from the frequency of their bowel movements to alerting local burglars every time they nip out to the shops. Look at the number of imbeciles who manage to commit profession­al suicide by posting drunken nude photos and abusive comments on social media.

on my computer, I’ve installed three different ad-blockers, anti-virus software and something that is supposed to protect your browsing history. Yet, like the lone bomber, the adverts still get through.

I was sitting here the other day reading something on Mail online when an ad popped up inviting me to buy some underpants from John Lewis. Since I’d just bought some pants from John Lewis the day before, why would I want to buy some more? How many pairs of pants do they think I need?

Do they think I wear them once then throw them away, like Justin bieber? If so, they should know better, since we also bought a new washing machine from John Lewis online.

but once they’ve got you, they’ve got you for life. Maybe I should have read the terms and conditions more closely, but they go on for about 67 pages and life’s too short. So, like everyone else, I just click ‘agree’.

We accept that when we buy something from Amazon, we’ll get bombarded with emails suggesting we buy something similar, just because somebody else did.

BUT that’s the cost of doing business. There’s no such thing as free next-day delivery. So we agree to trade some personal informatio­n in exchange for not having to schlepp round the North Circular Road to the hell on earth that is brent Cross shopping centre, or one of its ghastly equivalent­s across britain.

As for Google, there are other search engines, but who uses them? Google’s motto is ‘Don’t be evil’ and most people take them at their word. If they deploy our browsing history to generate huge profits from advertiser­s, good luck to them. Profit pays for innovation.

but it turns out that Google — along with Facebook, YouTube and Twitter — is quite happy to turn a blind eye to evil when it suits them.

These social networks help facilitate internatio­nal terrorism, according to a new report from the Commons Home Affairs Committee. They are ‘the vehicle of choice in spreading propaganda’ and have become ‘the recruiting platforms for terrorism’.

How the hell can they justify transmitti­ng the beheading videos of Izal maniacs all over the world? These make the broadcasts of Nazi mouthpiece Lord Haw Haw during World War II sound like Listen With Mother.

MPs want these vast tech companies to take responsibi­lity for the content they publish and join the war on jihad. but all attempts to get them to co-operate with the security services have met with only limited success.

The Facebooks of this world continue to hide behind their supranatio­nal legal status. In britain, the authoritie­s have struggled to block the online threats and sermons of Izal recruiting sergeant Ram Jam Choudary, who has finally been convicted of terror-related offences.

Ram Jam’s acolytes are continuing to pump out their poison on the internet, even as their spiritual leader prepares to spend a long stretch in maximum security at belmarsh.

HeRe’S the question. If these tech firms can pinpoint the purchaser of a few pairs of cotton-rich underpants in North London to within a few square centimetre­s, why the hell won’t they identify the location of those who are peddling murder and mayhem?

They could shut down these terrorists in an instant. They could help the security services send a fatal virus, or tracking software, down the line. or, better still, a cruise missile or a squadron of special forces.

Closing down a few Twitter and Facebook accounts is neither here nor there. Social media provides the infrastruc­ture for the spread of jihad around the world.

Why do they let the terrorists take advantage of their advanced networks? Should we assume that it’s because it allows them to sell balaclavas and zombie knives to bloodthirs­ty psychopath­s throughout the globe?

‘We have recommenda­tions based on items you purchased. You browsed ricin. You might also like scimitars and Semtex.’

If ‘Don’t be evil’ is to mean anything, these multi-billion-dollar firms have a duty to drive the terrorists from the world wide web and deny them access to modern mobile communicat­ions.

The Free World gave the tech companies the opportunit­y to thrive. They shouldn’t be aiding and abetting the enemies of freedom who want to destroy our hard-won liberties.

They have the technology. It’s about time they used it.

 ??  ?? TwO guests at a hotel in Thailand woke up to discover the corpse of a transsexua­l under their bed. The body had been stuffed into a box mattress. It was found after the couple complained about the smell. Still, I don’t know what they’re moaning about....
TwO guests at a hotel in Thailand woke up to discover the corpse of a transsexua­l under their bed. The body had been stuffed into a box mattress. It was found after the couple complained about the smell. Still, I don’t know what they’re moaning about....
 ?? richard.littlejohn@dailymail.co.uk ?? LITTLEJOHN
richard.littlejohn@dailymail.co.uk LITTLEJOHN

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