Is trolling illegal?

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K-2

K-2

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So a couple of folk have just had their day in court and admitted sending "menacing" tweets to the acclaimed journalist and feminist Caroline Criado-Perez (who?). :confused:

While I have a degree of sympathy for the woman, I'm struggling to understand why this was deemed serious enough for a criminal trial. Not sure what was actually tweeted nor what the punishment is for the two defendants (due to be sentenced at the end of the month) but does this mean that trolling is now illegal? If so, I think we're going to need to build some extra prisons.

Full story (complete with hilarious photographs) here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25641941
 
Isn't she the one who campaigned for a woman on a British bank note ?

I think it is an interesting question. Trolling has existed online for decades so I can't see how things have changed ..
 
Conanius said:
Isn't she the one who campaigned for a woman on a British bank note ?

I think it is an interesting question. Trolling has existed online for decades so I can't see how things have changed ..
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Yep that's her.
Trolling and threats are very different things.
 
The problem is that I think that Jane Austen is a bad choice to go on to the notes. But if you say that then people say you are against feminism. But I am not against a woman on the note, just Jane Austen. Feminists have extra protection against hate crimes in such that only because they are a "minority" they can claim a hate crime for any insult.

Also as far as i understand it, sending someone insulting messages is not trolling so I don't know how the BBC and the rest of the media think that is trolling. Trolling is when you pretend to argue against someone on an internet platform or set them up for a big discussion while you are just wasting their time. It seems to have just become a generic term for insults on the internet some how.
 
Trolling != what the media defines it as.

Bullying, online abuse and slander aren't trolling.
 
Of course trolling isn't illegal in itself. However it depends on what you say. Theres been a lot of cases of trolls ending up in court.

Improper use of public electronic communications network
.



(1)

A person is guilty of an offence if he—
.

(a)

sends by means of a public electronic communications network a message or other matter that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character; or
.

(b)

causes any such message or matter to be so sent.
.

(2)

A person is guilty of an offence if, for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to another, he—
.

(a)

sends by means of a public electronic communications network, a message that he knows to be false,
.

(b)

causes such a message to be sent; or
.

(c)

persistently makes use of a public electronic communications network.
.

(3)

A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable, on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or to both.
.

(4)

Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to anything done in the course of providing a programme service (within the meaning of the Broadcasting Act 1990 (c. 42)).
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In England and Wales, the activities of trolls may fall foul of random statute, but each case is fact sensitive. For example, section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 makes it a criminal offence to send messages which are grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character. Then there is the Computer Misuse Act 1990 – which would outlaw the unauthorised access to a victim’s computer or twitter account – and the Fraud Act 2006 – identity theft resulting in an unlawful gain – and the Serious Crime Act 2007 – inciting crime. And of course we now have the Defamation Act 2013 which received royal assent on 25 April 2013.
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From:

http://inforrm.wordpress.com/2013/1...-and-the-law-rhory-robertson-and-sophie-pugh/
 
K-2 said:
So a couple of folk have just had their day in court and admitted sending "menacing" tweets to the acclaimed journalist and feminist Caroline Criado-Perez (who?). :confused:

While I have a degree of sympathy for the woman, I'm struggling to understand why this was deemed serious enough for a criminal trial. Not sure what was actually tweeted nor what the punishment is for the two defendants (due to be sentenced at the end of the month) but does this mean that trolling is now illegal? If so, I think we're going to need to build some extra prisons.

Full story (complete with hilarious photographs) here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25641941
Click to expand...

It was more than just trolling ( in fact it wasn't even trolling....does it say trolling in that article?). They were threats of rape and murder...
 
And if you do threaten murder and rape over the Internet you deserve the book thrown at you and a criminal record. Idiots think they can hide behind a nickname and do anything.
 
Trolling is one of the greaterer arts of the Internet. If it ceases to exist, the internet loses one of it's most important criterias.
 
450px-Trolling_drawing.jpg


i hate trolling, trawling and the *******ization of a good word.
 
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