UK prosecutors to treat online hate crimes as seriously as face-to-face abuse

midian182

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It’s suggested that people are more likely to carry out online “hate crimes” because they believe they’re unlikely to be punished, and even if the perpetrators do face consequences, often the worst they can expect is a ban. But in the UK, prosecutors are cracking down on abusive social media users by treating their hate speech as seriously as face-to-face offenses.

Alison Saunders, the director of public prosecutions, said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will now address online hate crime “with the same robust and proactive approach used with offline offending.” The agency says it is making the change "in recognition of the growth of hate crime perpetrated using social media."

According to CPS guidelines, a hate crime can be used to describe a range of criminal behaviour where the perpetrator is motivated by hostility or demonstrates hostility towards the victim's 'protected characteristics,’ which include disability, race, religion, sexual orientation or transgender identity.

Writing in the Guardian, Saunders explained that “an increasing proportion of hate crime is now perpetrated” online, adding that while such actions can’t cause physical harm to victims, it can have “devastating effects.”

Even though the UK doesn’t have the same free speech rights as the US, Saunders assures people that she does not want to stifle freedom of expression, which she calls an important right in our society. She did add, however, that “left unchallenged, even low-level offending can subsequently fuel the kind of dangerous hostility that has been plastered across our media in recent days,” and referred directly to the incidents in Charlottesville and Barcelona.

UK prosecutors completed 15,442 hate crime cases between 2015-2016 - the highest number ever recorded. A large number of these saw the CPS request increased sentences.

“Hate crime can be perpetrated online or offline, or there can be a pattern of behavior that includes both,” the CPS said. “The internet and social media in particular have provided new platforms for offending behavior.”

What effect the new rules have on the numerous far-right UK Facebook and Twitter groups whose members regularly post racist comments remains to be seen.

Permalink to story.

 
UK prosecutors are arseholes through, scared to go after or willing to accept backhanders from the real criminals aka the drug distributes, paedophiles, and even believe it or not our own Police never mind most of the politicians.
 
Check this out. I've taken the quote and swapped the terms to a different period. See if you can guess the era.

Even though the UK doesn’t have the same bill of rights as the US, Saunders assures people that she does not want to stifle Jewish expression, which she calls an important right in our society. She did add, however, that “left unchallenged, even low-level offending can subsequently fuel the kind of dangerous hostility that has been plastered across our media in recent days,”

Here's the kicker from the article:

referred directly to the incidents in Charlottesville and Barcelona.

Charlottesville: An actual crazy kills a woman with a car.

Barcelona: A *team* of Muslim terrorists kill several in a terrorist attack.

The media's response? We need to crack down on people saying mean things on the internet, here are some politicians who agree.

Also the media: The right wing has a Nazi problem, which is why we need these laws.

Also the media: By the way, not all Muslims are like that and we mus'n't jump to conclusions when completely random vehicles plow into unsuspecting crowds and the driver and passengers jump out shouting "alahu akbar."

This narrative is collapsing faster than a jihadi life insurance company.
 
UK prosecutors are arseholes through, scared to go after or willing to accept backhanders from the real criminals aka the drug distributes, paedophiles, and even believe it or not our own Police never mind most of the politicians.

The UK law enforcement system, summarized...

Setup a grooming operation: Mum's the word.

Drop an n-bomb on Twitter: Jail.
 
This will most certainly end well. Who determines what constitutes hate speech? That's a pretty damn broad subject. And how much money is going to be invested in enforcement of this new "law?"

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for deterring hate speech. But there has to be some rules and policy behind that enforcement that make sense.
 
Its getting to the point in the UK where a VPN is becoming a necessity.

We cant access torrent sites, Porn will be next.
Companies like sky are given free reign to take down streams they do not approve of.
Using KODI is a criminal offence.
Calling someone a noob may land you in jail.

What a load of bullcrap.
 
This will most certainly end well. Who determines what constitutes hate speech? That's a pretty damn broad subject. And how much money is going to be invested in enforcement of this new "law?"

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for deterring hate speech. But there has to be some rules and policy behind that enforcement that make sense.
In the US, at least, SCOTUS has weighed in on this. http://constitution.laws.com/the-supreme-court/speech
 
Check this out. I've taken the quote and swapped the terms to a different period. See if you can guess the era.

Even though the UK doesn’t have the same bill of rights as the US, Saunders assures people that she does not want to stifle Jewish expression, which she calls an important right in our society. She did add, however, that “left unchallenged, even low-level offending can subsequently fuel the kind of dangerous hostility that has been plastered across our media in recent days,”

Here's the kicker from the article:

referred directly to the incidents in Charlottesville and Barcelona.

Charlottesville: An actual crazy kills a woman with a car.

Barcelona: A *team* of Muslim terrorists kill several in a terrorist attack.

The media's response? We need to crack down on people saying mean things on the internet, here are some politicians who agree.

Also the media: The right wing has a Nazi problem, which is why we need these laws.

Also the media: By the way, not all Muslims are like that and we mus'n't jump to conclusions when completely random vehicles plow into unsuspecting crowds and the driver and passengers jump out shouting "alahu akbar."

This narrative is collapsing faster than a jihadi life insurance company.
Wow. Look how the straw men are lining up!
 
Its getting to the point in the UK where a VPN is becoming a necessity.

We cant access torrent sites, Porn will be next.
Companies like sky are given free reign to take down streams they do not approve of.
Using KODI is a criminal offence.
Calling someone a noob may land you in jail.

What a load of bullcrap.


Remember when Hitler was after Britain?

He should have been more patient.
 
This will most certainly end well. Who determines what constitutes hate speech? That's a pretty damn broad subject. And how much money is going to be invested in enforcement of this new "law?"

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for deterring hate speech. But there has to be some rules and policy behind that enforcement that make sense.

Most are easy they are really daunting but you can find pattern too, it is not just one message but many and repetitive etc..
 
UK prosecutors are arseholes through, scared to go after or willing to accept backhanders from the real criminals aka the drug distributes, paedophiles, and even believe it or not our own Police never mind most of the politicians.

The UK law enforcement system, summarized...

Setup a grooming operation: Mum's the word.

Drop an n-bomb on Twitter: Jail.
Sorry but this black vs white war is just stupid. BOTH things are issues. You have a problem with them trying to address ONE issue? Seems to be missing the point doesn't it? BOTH things needs addressing.
 
Sorry but this black vs white war is just stupid. BOTH things are issues. You have a problem with them trying to address ONE issue? Seems to be missing the point doesn't it? BOTH things needs addressing.

When mean words are prioritized over children I have a problem, yes.
 
When muslims continue to kill europeans by stabbing, bombing and driving over them by ''the trucks of peace'', government does nothing about it, yet 90% of those acts were done by people that were in the ''potentially radical'' list.

But when you say ''mean'' things on the internet - you can get jailed for it. Gotta love liberal agenda and their priorities.

I'm really starting to think that being liberal in 2017 is mental disorder.
 
This will most certainly end well. Who determines what constitutes hate speech? That's a pretty damn broad subject. And how much money is going to be invested in enforcement of this new "law?"

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for deterring hate speech. But there has to be some rules and policy behind that enforcement that make sense.

To answer your first question, in UK law as it stands, something is considered hate speech if the "victim" ("or another person") "perceives" it to be hate speech. So the perpetrator could have absolutely no "hateful" intentions, but if the person on the receiving end decides that they did, then it's hate speech.

Because, as we all know, being on the receiving end of some naughty words grants telepathic powers.
 
UK prosecutors are arseholes through, scared to go after or willing to accept backhanders from the real criminals aka the drug distributes, paedophiles, and even believe it or not our own Police never mind most of the politicians.

The UK law enforcement system, summarized...

Setup a grooming operation: Mum's the word.

Drop an n-bomb on Twitter: Jail.
Sorry but this black vs white war is just stupid. BOTH things are issues. You have a problem with them trying to address ONE issue? Seems to be missing the point doesn't it? BOTH things needs addressing.
It isnt a black or white issue when the two issues are not even in the same BALLPARK.

Issue one: Actual children being harmed in horrible ways.

Issue two: someone said something mean on a chat service and hurt your precious feefees.

If you honestly believe that someone hurting your feelings online is on the same level as a grooming operation, you need to take off your diaper, put on your big boy pants, and walk outside of your snoflake echo chamber for more then 5 minutes. the fact that the UK is far less concerned with issue 1 then issue 2 is deeply concerning.
 
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It isnt a black or white issue when the two issues are not even in the same BALLPARK.

Issue one: Actual children being harmed in horrible ways.

Issue two: someone said something mean on a chat service and hurt your precious feefees.

If you honestly believe that someone hurting your feelings online is on the same level as a grooming operation, you need to take off your diaper, put on your big boy pants, and walk outside of your snoflake echo chamber for more then 5 minutes. the fact that the UK is far less concerned with issue 1 then issue 2 is deeply concerning.
Charges have been laid on the child grooming case. They are different resources to deal with the two issues. BOTH need solving but the same resources and effort are not required for the two things.
 
Charges have been laid on the child grooming case. They are different resources to deal with the two issues. BOTH need solving but the same resources and effort are not required for the two things.

Once again...

The UK LE response to child groomers: We're not going to move on this until someone forces us. Do not even mention it to the media because it's going to be politically hot.

The UK LE response to mean Tweets: We will look for you. We will find you. ...and we will prosecute you, both publicly and and in a court of law.

These orders come from law enforcement higher ups and government leadership, not simply different task forces that do the grunt work. It is a cultural problem in law enforcement and government that throws children to the wayside in favor of political expediency while turning trivial matters into judicial circus acts.

It is evil, it is going on unopposed, and if you think they are going to attempt to find "balance" you are mistaken.

In the UK today, if you think Indians tend to smell bad you will go to prison. If you convince someone's kid to attend your sex party the cops will play a game of don't ask, don't tell so long as you have an identification card stating that you are "Asian." It's sick. Truly sick.
 
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