UK resident to be sentenced for "Offensive Facebook Message" | Hacker News Reader

UK resident to be sentenced for "Offensive Facebook Message"

bbc.co.uk

3 pointsLasher5 comments

For those who don't understand the prosecution, it is important to know that impoverished parts of northern England have seen violent race riots on several occasions over the past few years, as have many other countries in Europe. There was significant rioting across England in August of last year, which had a substantial racial element and which ultimately led to 5 deaths.

Radical Islamist and far-right groups are constantly looking to provoke anger and dischord, with regular demonstrations and counter-demonstrations by groups like Islam4UK and the English Defence League posing a real threat to civil society.

The American notion of free speech is reliant on a level of cultural homogeneity that limits the risks of political and ethnic tensions. Europeans are much more comfortable with the idea of limiting speech which is a threat to peaceful coexistence, because we are painfully aware of how quickly a society can degenerate.

Americans perceive free speech as an inalienable right, but the European perspective is generally that there is a careful balance to be struck between the right of the individual to self-expression and defending the political stability which makes such freedom possible. The provocation of social tension is very much perceived as equivalent to shouting "fire!" in a crowded theatre. A great many historical failures to strike that balance loom large over the European political landscape.

I think you sum it up quite well. As a European, I support this stance, but encounter resistance from most Americans when it's discussed (even the more liberal ones) because it's such a culture shock.

I don't know if it's related but I travel in the US quite a lot and notice that compared to the UK, at least, races and cultures tend to separate themselves a lot, whereas even in rural areas of the UK, people integrate a lot more and seem to care less about race or culture.

Sort of, but I'm not entirely convinced these groups are any worse than many right wing groups in the US who protest against gay marriage, the welfare state, or abortion. We merely see them as being radical because of our laws whereas in the US, a group like the EDL wouldn't be seen as particularly interesting.

The actual act of law behind this: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/27/section/1

The chance of a serious sentence is small. However, in getting a guilty verdict, they had to prove one of his purposes of sending the message was to "cause distress or anxiety", not merely that such distress or anxiety was caused. This is why comedians aren't constantly hauled in on such charges because their role is clear.

It's clearly a terrible thing to say, but I'm utterly shocked that's illegal. It's not a threat to anyone, it's not harassing a specific individual, etc. Seems to be a dangerous precedent to set.

How did this become a case in the first place? Who even bothered to "press charges" over this?

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