King’s College London accused of paying a security firm to ‘spy’ on pro-Palestine students

King’s College London has been accused of paying a security firm to “spy” on pro-Palestine students.

An investigation conducted by Al Jazeera English and Liberty Investigates found evidence a company, led by ex-military intelligence officials, scanned social media use and undertook background checks on students on behalf of twelve universities, including Kings College London.

King’s College London has maintained “it is incorrect to suggest that the company is used for surveillance on students” because it only uses “publicly available information to [help the university] understand when a protest will take place.”

The information comes after Al Jazeera and Liberty Investigates submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to more that 150 universities.

Among those monitored were a Palestinian academic invited to give a guest lecture at Manchester Metropolitan University and a pro-Gaza PhD student at a Russell Group university. There is no suggestion this activity is illegal.

Lizzie Hobbs, the PhD student, said it is “deeply scary” to see how much money universities are “willing to invest” into monitoring its student’s social media accounts. She was only made aware her social media posts had been monitored when she was approached for comment by Al Jazeera.

Rabab Ibrahim Abdulhadi, the guest speaker, was also not aware she was being monitored. In emails sent between Manchester Metropolitan University staff and Horus, MMU asked Horus to conduct a counter terror “threat assessment” on the scholar. “They actually made an assumption of guilt and started investigating me because of my scholarship,” she said.

Horus Security Consultancy Limited has been paid at least £440,000 pounds by universities since 2022 to monitor students social media pages and “conduct secret counter-terror threat assessments,” according to Al Jazeera.

Horus offers a service that provides its clients with open-source intelligence reports, and has been integrating AI into its operations since 2022.

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Gina Romero, the UN special rapporteur for freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, said: “The use of AI to harvest and analyse student data under the guise of open source intelligence raises profound legal concerns.”

Jo Grady, general secretary of the UK’s largest union for lecturers and university staff, said it was “shameful” that institutions had “wasted hundreds of thousands of pounds spying on their own students”.

A King’s College London spokesperson said: “Freedom of speech for students and staff is a fundamental right, and we have and will continue to support the right to peaceful protest. It is incorrect to suggest that the company is used for surveillance on students, we only use publicly available information to understand when a protest will take place to ensure we have the right resources in place for our university community, making sure events can continue safely and within the bounds of the law, while minimising disruption on campus.”

A Manchester Metropolitan University spokesperson said: “We are committed to supporting freedom of speech and we aim to provide a supportive, inclusive and safe environment for anyone speaking at, or attending, events at our university.

“To ensure the safety of our community and external speakers, we routinely undertake background checks and assessments ahead of events to identify any potential risks and inform any necessary security.

“We are proud to offer a safe and inclusive campus that encourages conversations around sensitive topics and ensures that all voices are heard and respected.”

MMU also clarified: “The university has worked with Horus for a number of years and has carried out assessments on a range of speakers, regardless of their background. The purpose of these assessments is to ensure the safety of the speakers and our wider university community.”

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