I find this very strange. Is offensive tweeting really a crime in Britain? While the tweeter appears to be a jerk, didn't Daley increase the harm (if any) from the tweet by republishing it?
UK police arrest teen for tweets about diver ASSOCIATED PRESS July 31, 2012 5:11AM Updated: July 31, 2012 8:16AM LONDON — A teenager has been arrested on suspicion of posting malicious Twitter messages directed at British Olympic diver Tom Daley, U.K. police said Tuesday. Daley’s father died of brain cancer a year ago and the 18-year-old Olympian had hoped to win a medal “for myself and my dad.” But he finished fourth on Monday, out of medal contention, in the 10-meter synchronized platform competition with teammate Pete Waterfield. Afterward, Daley tweeted a message saying “After giving it my all...you get idiots sending me this...” and retweeted a message from user @Rileyy69 which said: “You let your dad down i hope you know that.” Dorset Police said early Tuesday that a 17-year-old man was arrested “on suspicion of malicious communications” in relation to Twitter threats made against Daley. Police said the man was detained at a guest house in the southwestern coastal town of Weymouth in the early hours of the morning, and is currently helping police with their inquiries. In Britain, tweeting messages considered menacing, offensive or indecent can lead to prosecution. Dan Matyola http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
