Blackberry Helps UK Police Track Flash Mobs

 　　A media watchdog says who want to identify rioters in London and other cities through their smartphones.

　　Reporters Without Borders said Blackberry has already provided Scotland Yard with information about a number of Blackberry users.

　　British rioters and looters were able to organize rapidly through Blackberry's encrypted text messages.  The nights of rioting were sparked by a police shooting last Saturday in Tottenham.

　　Reporters Without Borders says it is not minimizing the "gravity of the situation" in the United Kingdom, but the group says it believes providing personal data to the police sets a "disturbing precedent¹" in a western country and could have "significant consequences" for setting an example for other kinds of government.

　　Reporters Without Borders says it is not minimizing the "gravity of the situation" in the United Kingdom, but the group says it believes providing personal data to the police sets a "disturbing precedent" in a western country and could have "significant consequences" for setting an example for other kinds of government.

　　The media watchdog group said it was "shocked" by suggestions from several politicians that Blackberry should suspend its messaging service.  The group urged British authorities "to rule out any possibility of shutting down or drastically restricting the use of social networks."

　　Reporters Without Borders also voiced concern about British Prime Minister David Cameron's suggestion that television broadcasters have a duty to hand over unused footage of the rioting to the police.  The group said doing so would turn the television broadcasters into "police auxiliaries² and seriously endanger their independence."

1 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

2 auxiliaries   

n.助动词 ( auxiliary的名词复数 )；辅助工，辅助人员

参考例句：

• These auxiliaries have made our work much easier. 有了这些辅助人员，我们的工作才顺利多了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• In English the future tense is often rendered by means of auxiliaries. 在英语中，将来时常用助动词来表现。 来自辞典例句