Government wants social media platforms to be less attractive for foreign agents after recent intelligence warnings
The government is holding talks with LinkedIn on how it can clamp down on prolific Chinese espionage activity after a rare interference alert was issued by MI5.
The National Protective Security Authority, which is part of the UK’s security services, is speaking to social media platforms about making them less attractive for foreign agents, a government official told the Guardian.
MPs and peers were told on Tuesday that they faced “a covert and calculated” attempt at espionage via two LinkedIn profiles linked to the Chinese intelligence service. MI5 said the two accounts, posing as recruiters, were trying to obtain “insider insights” into British politics.
The spy agency said the profiles under the names of Amanda Qiu, from BP-YR Executive Search, and Shirly Shen, from InternshipUnion, were using LinkedIn to “conduct outreach at scale”. Both accounts have since been deleted.
