CPS issues new social media prosecution guidelines

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CPS issues new social media prosecution guidelines

(AFP) ? 13 minutes ago

LONDON ? Twitter and Facebook users who post offensive messages on the social networking sites are less likely to face criminal charges under new guidelines which come into effect on Wednesday.

The Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer QC has issued the new guidance after a sharp rise in the number of criminal prosecutions over the past two years.

Internet trolls who persecute individuals or make "grossly offensive or threatening remarks" will still be prosecuted, but Starmer said the new rules were aimed at drawing a distinction between misjudged jokes and menacing threats.

The guidance means social media users are unlikely to face prosecution if they show remorse for their behaviour and delete the offensive messages.

In one high-profile recent case, a man was convicted in 2010 for joking on Twitter about blowing up Robin Hood airport in South Yorkshire after his flight was cancelled due to a snow storm.

Starmer admitted the Crown Prosecution Service showed "bad judgment" in prosecuting Paul Chambers, 28, whose conviction was quashed by the High Court in July.

"These interim guidelines are intended to strike the right balance between freedom of expression and the need to uphold the criminal law,? he told the BBC.

"The interim guidelines thus protect the individual from threats or targeted harassment while protecting the expression of unpopular or unfashionable opinion about serious or trivial matters, or banter or humour, even if distasteful to some and painful to those subjected to it."

The changes come into effect a few weeks after a teenager was arrested for posting an image of a remembrance poppy being set alight on Facebook. Kent police were widely criticised for their reaction to the post.

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Only applies in England and Wales according to STV.