Companies will monitor tweets and provide real-time updates to Whitehall (Picture: Getty Images)

If you’re one of those people that gets a bit vocal about politics, you’ll be interested to know that your Facebook, Twitter and personal blog are about to begin being monitored for references to the Government.

Ministers announced yesterday that the Government had awarded a contract to five companies who will monitor what people tweet, post to Facebook or blog about the Government and provide updates to Whitehall in real time.

Officials and ministers will provide a list of keywords and topics to the companies so that they know what to monitor.

This is the first time the Government has specifically monitored social media (Picture: Getty Images)

‘We monitor digital, social and traditional media so we understand what people are saying, identify their concerns and shape policies accordingly,’ a Cabinet Office spokeswoman told the Independent.




‘Departments have always monitored social media but this agreement means they can find the most appropriate way of doing this at the best price, ensuring good value for money for the taxpayer.’

While the Government has at times monitored digital news for a number of years, this is the first time that the Government has awarded a contract specifically for that purpose, and the first time that its surveillance specifically includes social media.