UK spy chief says Web is command center for terror

US-based social media have become "command-and-control networks" for terrorists and criminals, and tech companies are in denial about their misuse, the new head of Britain's electronic eavesdropping agency said. Writing in Tuesday's Financial Times, GCHQ chief Robert Hannigan said British intelligence agencies know that IS extremists use messaging services like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp to reach their peers with ease.

He said spy agencies need to have greater support from the US technology companies which dominate the Web in order to fight militants and those who host material about violent extremism and child exploitation. "However much (tech companies) may dislike it, they have become the command-and-control networks of choice for terrorists and criminals." he wrote.