12 UK Universities Pay Firm £440,000 to Monitor Protests

Twelve British universities, including prestigious institutions such as the University of Oxford and Imperial College London, have paid a private intelligence firm at least 440,000 pounds since 2022 to monitor student social media activity and conduct risk assessments related to campus protests, particularly those supporting Palestine, according to a joint investigation by Al Jazeera English and Liberty Investigates.

The firm, Horus Security Consultancy Limited, was contracted by universities including University College London, King's College London, the University of Sheffield, the University of Leicester, the University of Nottingham, Cardiff Metropolitan University, the London School of Economics, Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Bristol. Freedom of information requests submitted to more than 150 universities uncovered internal documents showing that Horus collected open-source intelligence, including social media posts, and provided daily briefings on protest activities. The company has integrated artificial intelligence into its operations since 2022 to analyze online data, charging universities around 900 pounds per month for such services.