It’s amazing it’s actually come to this. British police are still terrified to use necessary force against gangs of violent looters out of fear of the legal ramifications. But instead of the obligation of law enforcement to do its job, the government is apparently considering curtailing free online expression in order to contain the unrelenting street riots:

“Everyone watching these horrific actions will be stuck by how they were organized via social media,” [Prime Minister David] Cameron said. “Free flow of information can be used for good. But it can also be used for ill.”

The U.K. government is expected to meet with executives from Facebook, Twitter and Research in Motion (the company behind BlackBerry Messenger, a key organizing device in the spread of the riots) over the next several weeks, Cameron said.

He continued: “We are working with the police, the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality.”

The government is apparently looking into how it can immediately limit Twitter, Facebook and Blackberry communications, but it sounds like they may also be considering long-term restrictions (unless Cameron actually expects the riots to continue for the next few weeks while he holds these meetings with social media executives).

Shutting down social media isn’t just morally objectionable and ineffective (it certainly wasn’t successful when Hosni Mubarak tried it), it will also give political cover to tyrannical regimes when they employ the same tactics. Plus, it could potentially end up invigorating the anarchist and militant left-wing movements that have tried to co-opt the civil unrest.

There’s no reason to set such a dangerous precedent when law enforcement has legitimate tools at its disposal it has so far neglected to use.