Attorney-General says he won't hesitate to take action over offending posts on Twitter
The Straits Times, 13 May 2012
London - Twitter users in Britain have been warned that the Internet is not a law-free zone.
The British government's top law officer spoke out last Friday over abusive tweets, following a series of high-profile court cases involving postings made on the microblogging site.
Attorney-General Dominic Grieve said users should be aware of how easy it can be to break the law, adding that he would not hesitate to take action over offending posts.
'If somebody goes down to the pub with printed sheets of paper and hands it out, that's no different than if somebody goes and does a tweet,' Mr Grieve told BBC Radio.
'The idea that you have immunity because you're an anonymous tweeter is a big mistake.
In Britain and overseas, an increasing number of legal actions involving Twitter are building a record of law enforcement in a still-new area of social media.
A student who mocked English Premier League footballer Fabrice Muamba on Twitter after he collapsed on the pitch with a heart attack in March was jailed for 56 days after admitting to a racially aggravated public order offence.
About 17 arrests have been made in connection with the alleged naming on Twitter of the woman whom Welsh footballer Ched Evans was last month convicted of raping.
In March, former New Zealand cricketer Chris Cairns won a libel action against former Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi in the first libel action heard in England against a post on Twitter.
Judge David Bean dismissed match-fixing allegations levelled against the cricketer, leaving Mr Modi facing a bill of more than £500,000 (S$1 million).
The BBC said the Attorney-General's warning comes after he had warned last July that use of social networking websites such as Facebook could threaten the existence of jury trials in Britain, because of the temptation for jurors to research cases on the Internet.
Mr Grieve's latest reference to Twitter users included a warning that breaching privacy injunctions could mean facing legal action for contempt of court.
He said that the government did not need to create new laws as existing ones already make it illegal to 'grossly offend' or 'cause distress'.
The BBC said Twitter had referred to its terms of use which state: 'You may not use our service for any unlawful purposes or in furtherance of illegal activities.
'Accounts engaging in these behaviours may be investigated for abuse.'
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