I would think PDML members could give the British police a close run. I did not equate offensive posting to hate speech - I simply pointed out that there is no single universal definition, and that in every jurisdiction there is a somewhat arbitrary line drawn somewhere.
I suspect the reported case may well fail the test of "fair comment" (or whether it would be possible for the hypothetical "reasonable person" to hold such a viewpoint). That's up to the judge to decide. (That would, of course, also be true of a "I hate/like cats!" post). Perhaps the (current) British legal position is too restrictive. But the American standpoint (where the legality of an offensive statement depends on whether the exact nature of the slur falls into certain categories, or uses certain prohibited words, and not how hurtful the statement was intended to be) is not necessarily better. On Tue, Jul 31, 2012 at 06:31:00PM -0400, John Sessoms wrote: > If I should tweet "I like cats!", I'm sure many cat haters would > find that offensive. Thus are we reduced to the lowest thin skinned > common denominator. It's rather extreme to elevate poor taste to the > level of "hate speech". > > British Police win the gold for stupidity. > > > From: John Francis > > >As it says at the bottom of the article you quoted, tweeting messages > >considered menacing, offensive or indecent can lead to prosecution. > > > >Even in the USA, where "freedom of speech" is often taken to be > >synonymous with "freedom from any consequences of your speech" there is > >an exception for 'hate speech'. There are also statutes against cyber > >bullying in several jurisdictions. > > > >Nothing is absolute. Just where the line is drawn between what is, and > >what is not, acceptable behaviour varies considerably between countries. > > > >On Tue, Jul 31, 2012 at 05:15:46PM -0400, Daniel J. Matyola wrote: > >>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. -- 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.
