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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   32959 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of February 13, 2023

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Or maybe I'm not being pessimistic enough and UK counter-terrorism will just make a huge list of books, TV shows, and movies that get you on a terrorism watchlist, such as "Yes Minister", John Locke, Carlyle, C.S. Lewis and Tolkien.

https://archive.is/5RQ0d

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1134986/Independent_Review_of_Prevent.pdf

Or maybe I'm not being pessimistic enough and UK counter-terrorism will just make a huge list of books, TV shows, and movies that get you on a terrorism watchlist, such as "Yes Minister", John Locke, Carlyle, C.S. Lewis and Tolkien.

This ship sailed long ago, check Terrorism Act 2000

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/section/58

58 Collection of information.

(1)A person commits an offence if

(a)he collects or makes a record of information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism

(b)he possesses a document or record containing information of that kind

(c)the person views, or otherwise accesses, by means of the internet a document or record containing information of that kind.

"information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism" sounds so very very scary.

What exactly it means in practice?

In practice it means books you can easily and fully legally buy from Amazon.uk

If the cops feel like including ...check... Great British Railway Journeys among this super dangerous knowledge, it would be fully legal according to this act.

"Why are you watching documents about trains? Do you plan to cause derailment?"

(more examples here)

https://www.cps.gov.uk/crime-info/terrorism/counter-terrorism-division-crown-prosecution-service-cps-successful-prosecutions-2016

Subsequent forensic analysis of the mobile device revealed four electronic documents, all of which contravened s58 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

The Anarchy Cookbook Version 2000,

The Improvised Munitions handbook Vol 1 1981

Mujahideen-Poisons Handbook

The Explosives Course.

.....

In a folder on the computer, analysts discovered PDF files containing five issues of Rumiyah, the Daesh propaganda magazine. Each of those contained an article in a section known as “Just Terror Tactics” that contravenes Section 58 Terrorism Act 2000 in that they contain instructional information likely to assist a person in the preparation of acts of terrorism. There was clear evidence of attribution to Zakaria Yanaouri. Those exact same files were duplicated on the Samsung Galaxy mobile phone and indications were that Zakaria Yanaouri had transferred the files from the computer to the phone.

.....

The police uncovered a wealth of data from five devices used by Harry Vaughan including a list of 129 internet accounts, usernames and passwords on a memory stick and a large volume of material linked to Siege, ISIS, Satanism, Neo-Nazism and antisemitism totalling approximately 4200 images and 302 files including videos.

.....

There were numerous digital copies of books on firearms, explosives and military tactics. These included manuals on how to construct homemade guns and ammunition. There were also several digital copies of books which tended to reveal extreme right-wing views and objectives.

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