© PA Images / Lefteris Pitarakis/AP
The Prime Minister said that intelligence services and the police were exploring whether it was "right and possible" to stop those who were found to be planning violence during times of unrest.
However, rights groups have hit out at any possibility of a ban, arguing that such an approach would be open to abuse and hurt the civil liberties of people who have done nothing wrong.
Texting and Blackberry Messenger are thought to have been the conduit for much of the rallying in London, with the latter service allowing the rioters to send messages to their network of contacts that could not be directly traced by the authorities.
Blackberry owner Research In Motion has responded by saying that it would assist the police investigation "in any way we can", but MP David Lammy said on Tuesday that RIM should temporarily shut down BlackBerry Messenger in an attempt to stop further rioting.
Speaking during an emergency recall of Parliament today, Cameron told MPs that anyone observing the riots would be "struck by how they were organised via social media".
He said that the government would work with the police, intelligence service and industry to explore whether there should, or even could, be limits on social media in times of growing public disorder. Cameron said that social media includes Facebook, Twitter and messaging technologies, including Blackberry Messenger.
Home secretary Theresa May is understood to have been meeting with representatives of Facebook, Twitter and RIM to discuss their obligations during times of disturbance.
In the statement, Cameron said: "Everyone watching these horrific actions will be stuck by how they were organised via social media. Free flow of information can be used for good. But it can also be used for ill. And when people are using social media for violence we need to stop them.
"So we are working with the police, the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality. I have also asked the police if they need any other new powers."
MPs within the coalition are understood to doubt the technical feasibility and civil liberty implications of cutting off social networks, with many sceptical of the plan.
The Open Rights Group has also hit out at the approach, expressing concern about the prospect of suspending services and user accounts, as well as the threat to personal privacy and security. The group is also concerned that the move would set a "bad example" around the world about Britain's stance on internet freedom.
The Daily Telegraph is reporting that newspaper Chinese People's Daily have already seized on the story, saying: "The West have been talking about supporting internet freedom, and oppose other countries' government to control this kind of websites, now we can say they are tasting the bitter fruit [of their complacency] and they can't complain about it."
ORG director Jim Killock said: "New measure to remove web freedoms of any sort will quickly be seized upon by oppressive governments to justify their own actions. The UK should not be using the same methods as governments in China, Bahrain or Saudi Arabia.
"Making laws in haste, with limited analysis and information, to deal with an exceptional problem is likely to create unbalanced laws and abuses of our rights.
John Bassett, a former official at GCHQ and now a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, told Reuters that the government would be well advised to avoid a ban.
"The use of social media in the unrest looks like a game-changer," said Bassett. "But any attempt to exert state control over social media looks likely to fail."
Earlier in the week, it emerged that police investigating the rioting across the UK are attempting to track down the organisers based on their BlackBerry Messenger communications.
