Isabella Sorley, 23, and John Nimmo, 25, have both been handed a prison sentence after sending tweets to journalist and equality campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez in July last year. They pleaded guilty to sending by means of a public electronic communications network messages which were menacing in character, contrary to Section 127(1) (A) of the Communications … Continue reading
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Kier Starmer, has now published its final guidelines stating how offensive a comment must be to justify police and prosecution time. There are already concerns that the guidance will not go far enough to prevent the growing phenomenon of online ‘trolls’. Starmer has said that prosecutors must respect and recognise freedom … Continue reading
The UK’s first Youth Police Commissioner will not face prosecution over inappropriate tweets which led to her resignation. Kent Police have confirmed that 17 year old Paris Brown will not be prosecuted in respect of the allegedly racist, homophobic and violent tweets revealed by the Mail on Sunday earlier this month. Brown had only been … Continue reading
The Attorney General Dominic Grieve has warned that Twitter users who have posted or retweeted pictures claiming to be of Jon Venables, who murdered James Bulger as a child 20 years ago, may be fined and could face a prison sentence. An order is in place to protect the identity of James Bulger’s killers, Venables … Continue reading
The BBC has reported a case in Northern Ireland in which a High Court judge has awarded damages of £35,000 against an unknown person who defamed people on Facebook. The identities of the three individuals who were libelled directly and by implication – and the business in which they worked – have not been revealed at the request of … Continue reading
In December 2012, Keir Starmer, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) set out interim guidelines for the prosecution of people who misuse social media, but are these suitable for use in the workplace? As a result of an increase in the number of allegations the Crown Prosecution Service has had to deal with – about … Continue reading
Kevin Poulter 