London, Aug 10 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Twitter has refused to suspend the accounts of British mass protesters, citing the importance of "freedom of expression".

Like the recent revolts in North African countries, the British protests were scheduled and coordinated through social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook.

Scotland Yard asked Twitter to block the accounts of the rioters because of the incitement to violence.

Twitter, however, rejected the request, referring to its co-founder Biz Stone's post where he said that "freedom of expression is essential", the daily Telegraph reported.

"Our goal is to instantly connect people everywhere to what is most meaningful to them...We don't always agree with the things people choose to tweet, but we keep the information flowing irrespective of any view we may have about the content," Stone said in his post.

According to the latest police statistics, 768 rioters have been detained in London since the protests began Saturday and almost 200 of them have been accused of disrupting public order, destroying property, and theft.