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Abstract
There is a growing body of evidence that terrorists/terrorist groups have increased their use of the Internet to include a move into online social network environments in their efforts to radicalise and potentially recruit and mobilise new members. Both the US and UK governments acknowledge that not enough is known about this phenomenon and there is an urgent need for more substantive research in the area of terrorists' use of computer-mediated communication. However, research in this area carries with it some serious ethical and legal concerns that cannot and should not be ignored. UK law makes it difficult for terrorism studies researchers and other academics to conduct this online research without potentially violating the law. With careful consideration of the ethical concerns surrounding the methods of data collection, and knowledge of and adherence to Data Protection laws, along with notification of proposed research to the proper law enforcement office to insure compliance with the UK Terrorism Act, it is however possible to move forward with academic integrity and a reasonable assurance that one will not be charged and prosecuted for violations of the Terrorism Acts.
Notes
1. Accomplishment of these important goals would not have been possible without the support, guidance and personal efforts of my supervisors Dr Roger MacGinty and Dr Jeffrey Murer from the School of International Relations, University of St Andrews, and Dr Saleem Bhatti and Dr Tristan Henderson from the School of Computer Science, University of St Andrews. The support of the late Prof. Paul Wilkinson and others within St Andrews’ Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence was also invaluable.
2. See Facebook's ‘Key Facts’ page at http://newsroom.fb.com/content/default.aspx?NewsAreaId=22 [Accessed 6 August 2012].
3. The Society's statement is available from http://www.britsoc.co.uk/about/equality/statement-of-ethical-practice.aspx [Accessed 6 August 2012].
4. The Data Protection Act is available from http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/29/contents A useful primer on ‘Key definitions of the Data Protection Act’ is provided by the UK Information Commissioner's Office and is available from http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/data_protection/the_guide/key_definitions.aspx/ [Both accessed 6 August 2012].
5. EU Directive 95/46/EC is available from http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31995L0046:en:HTML [Accessed 6 August 2012].
6. The UK Terrorism Act 2006 is available from http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/11/contents [Accessed 6 August 2012].
7. The UK Terrorism Act 2000 is available from http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/contents [Accessed 6 August 2012].