US Edition12 British Varsities Paid Firm to ‘Spy’ on Pro-Palestine Students: Report
The firm trawled social media and produced secret threat assessments for campus protest monitoring, with universities paying at least £443,943 since 2022.
- A joint investigation by Al Jazeera English and Liberty Investigates revealed that 12 UK universities paid Horus Security Consultancy Limited at least £440,000 since 2022 to monitor student protesters and academics.
- Founded in 2006 by former military intelligence officials, Horus integrates AI into its operations to 'trawl through student social media feeds' and conduct 'secret counter-terror threat assessments' for elite institutions.
- Manchester Metropolitan University requested a 'threat assessment' on a 70-year-old Palestine studies scholar on April 6, 2023, while the London School of Economics flagged PhD student Lizzie Hobbs's social media posts.
- Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union, called the practice 'shameful,' while UN special rapporteur Gina Romero warned that harvesting student data raises 'profound legal concerns' regarding public accountability.
- Imperial College London denied the practice constituted 'spying,' stating it merely sought to 'help identify potential security risks to its community,' though critics maintain monitoring peaceful political activism remains problematic.
12 Articles
12 Articles
UK Universities, Including Oxford, Used Private Firm To Track Activism, Including Pro-Palestine Protests
A joint investigation alleges 12 UK universities paid Horus Security Consultancy over 4,40,000 Poound to monitor student protests using open-source data. Reports included references to activists and academics, raising privacy concerns. Universities say the work focused on public safety and did not involve surveillance or sharing student data. UK Universities, Including Oxford, Used Private Firm To Track Activism, Including Pro-Palestine Protests.
British universities paid security firm to spy on pro-Palestine students
Twelve British universities paid a private firm run by former military intelligence officials to “spy” on student protesters and academics, including those who have expressed solidarity with Palestine, it can be revealed.
UK varsities spying on pro-Palestine students? 12 universities paid over £440,000 to security firm - Report
UK News: A shocking investigation reveals twelve UK universities have paid over £440,000 to a security firm for surveillance on student activists and academics, sparking concerns over freedom of expression and privacy.
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