BNP members list sparks flurry of web spin-offs

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 19 Nov 2008 at 15:18

The leaked membership list of British National Party members is spreading like wildfire across the internet, as opportunists attempt to cash in on public interest.

Several sites that have been registered in the past day are running full copies of the membership list.

Not only do the sites appear near the top of Google search results, but they also contain Google Ads, in a blatant attempt to turn a quick profit from the influx of visitors.

When asked whether such sites were breaking Google's Adsense terms and conditions, a spokesperson told PC Pro: "Google's Adsense policies make clear that sites displaying Google ads may not include content that infringes on the legal rights of others. If we discover that a website is breaking this policy then we will take down the ads."

Meanwhile, another site has used the data to create a Google Maps mashup that shows the number of BNP members in each town across the country. "People use the Google Maps API to present a huge variety of data," the Google spokesperson told us. "While Google provides the platform it doesn't control the data which users choose to lay on top of the maps."

Whilst happy to expose the names and addresses of BNP members, the list site owners are being particularly guarded about their own identities.

One site is registered to a "John Doe", whilst another gives his address as "151 Shekinah%%Triq, Luigi Billion, Pembroke, XX, STJ13, MT".

The publication of the list has sparked fears of reprisals against BNP members. The list contains full names, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses of members, as well as details of profession, hobbies and even convictions.