In the Old Testament, Proverbs teaches that ‘Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall’.

Soon, I guarantee, and it cannot come soon enough, Facebook and their ilk will suffer one mighty fall.

For if ever there were a mega-corporation puffed up with ‘an haughty spirit’, it is them.

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Earlier this week, Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) blasted an internet service provider for its failure to notice that Michael Adebowale, one of the killers of Fusilier Lee Rigby, had revealed in explicit, gruesome detail his intention to murder a soldier – and then to pass this information on to our Security Service, MI5.

The ISP wasn’t named. But we now know, and it has been widely reported, that it was Facebook.

Like every other major ISP (apart from Blackberry), Facebook is based in the USA.

There are good reasons why American ISPs should have a deserved sense of pride in their achievements.

But with that pride has come a deep cultural arrogance. These ISPs for sure pay US taxes, and have to obey any demands of US law enforcement agencies.

But not our laws, if they can possibly avoid them.

Facebook is used by millions in the UK, but they paid not a single penny in UK tax in 2012.

US ISPs, say the British government, have ‘for the most part refused to recognise UK legislation requiring them to provide [to UK intelligence agencies] the contents of communications on their networks’ when served with a UK interception warrant.

They claim that such compliance with UK law, in respect of communications originating in the UK, would place them – if you please – in breach of UK law.

Imagine, for one second, if the situation were the other way round?

And if a major UK based ISP, operating in the US, refused to comply with an intercept warrant by a US agency.

The United States Government would come down on this ISP with a ton of bricks.

They would comply all right, or Uncle Sam would simply stop their business.

The British people are famously tolerant. But we don’t like being pushed too far.

Facebook will reap a whirlwind if they don’t stop taking us for fools.