US tech firms offering terrorists 'networks of choice': British official

London

ONE of Britain's highest-ranking intelligence officials on Tuesday castigated US companies that dominate the Internet for providing the "command-and-control networks of choice for terrorists and criminals" and challenged the companies to find a better balance between privacy and security.

The statements were made by Robert Hannigan, the newly appointed director of Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Britain's electronic intelligence agency. They were among the most pointed in a campaign by intelligence services in Britain and the United States against pressure to rein in their digital surveillance following disclosures by the US former contractor Edward J Snowden.