Social media posts that criticize the UK's anti-terror program called Prevent are reportedly being monitored and investigated by government officials, according to recent reports. Metro has obtained a list of nearly 80 critical posts that were identified and recorded by the Standards and Compliance Unit (StaCU), which oversees the Prevent program. These posts were logged between March 2024 and February 2025. The Home Office initially refused to release details about this database but was forced to do so after an appeal to the Information Commissioner's Office, an independent body that handles data protection and privacy issues in the UK. Jacob Smith, who spent over a year pushing for the release of this information, argued that people should be free to criticize government policies without being flagged or monitored. StaCU, a relatively new and not well-known group established in February 2024, is responsible for addressing complaints and investigating concerns about the Prevent program. According to the information obtained, officials seem to be actively searching online for posts that are critical of Prevent. Freedom of Information requests revealed that StaCU logged 77 negative comments about the program. Many of these posts came from regular people who likely never imagined that government officials would be monitoring their social media activity. A significant number of the complaints focused on the idea that Prevent’s training for public sector employees is biased, particularly in how it identifies early signs of radicalization. For example, one user on X (formerly Twitter) was logged after calling the training "complete bullshit," arguing that it focuses only on far-right extremism and ignores Islamic extremism. Another poster described sitting through a Prevent training session at work, where the narrative emphasized that the far right is the biggest threat. While many of the complaints centered on the program’s focus on right-wing extremism, other posts criticized the government in different ways. One X user claimed that Prevent "closes down conversations in the classroom" because "Muslim children are seen as a 'threat.'" Another user was logged for saying that Muslim children could be referred to Prevent for expressing support for "Free Palestine." An organization called Open Rights Group, which campaigns for digital rights, also had one of its tweets recorded. The group expressed concern that the way data is stored and managed under the Prevent program lacks transparency. StaCU says it tries to independently verify claims about Prevent, but this is only possible for about 10% of the posts. The Commission for Countering Extremism, which oversees StaCU, sometimes responds to posts on their list but does not always do so. When they do respond, they usually ask the user to submit a formal complaint about the program. The Home Office has stated that Prevent does not track individuals who have criticized the program and does not target any specific community. A spokesperson emphasized that the government's top priority is keeping the public safe and noted that Prevent has helped move more than 6,000 people away from violent ideologies since 2015.