offence
Dangerous tweets: Arrested, fined in 140 characters or less
arstechnica.com
In 2010, South Yorkshire police showed up at the workplace of 26-year old Paul Chambers and arrested him. His crime: posting a frustrated joke to Twitter after his girlfriend's flight was delayed due to snow at the local airport. “Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed," he wrote. "You’ve got...
Tom Daley, Twitter abuse and the law | Joshua Rozenberg
www.guardian.co.uk
Twitter users have to understand that every tweet is a broadcast - even if it's prefaced with an @Debate has been raging in the Twittersphere about whether Dorset police overreacted by arresting a 17-year-old in the early hours "on suspicion of malicious communications".The police were responding to a tweet sent...
Kim Dotcom judge rules mansion raid was illegal
www.guardian.co.uk
New Zealand police 'exceeded authority' when storming home of Megaupload founder, who US wants to extraditeAttempts to extradite internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom to the US have suffered a further setback with a ruling in the New Zealand high court that a raid on his Auckland mansion was illegal.Justice Helen Winkelmann...
Let's put Facebook's 'no nipples' rule to test with your breastfeeding photos | Rowan Davies
www.guardian.co.uk
A society that is not prepared to accept the odd flash of nipple is a society that is not prepared to accept breastfeedingIt's not easy being a colossally successful social network. This might sound like sarcasm, but it's not; it's hard to formulate rules that allow 845 million users to...
Yet Another (Yes Another) Error In Megaupload Case: Search Warrants Ruled Illegal
www.techdirt.com
Early on, we pointed out that the legal theories behind the shutting down of Megaupload and the arrest of its founders were highly questionable. And since then, we've seen that it wasn't just the legal theories that were problematic, but nearly everything about the case, including a bunch of procedural...
French advisory council speaks out against Sarkozy’s plan to criminalize visiting extremist websites
thenextweb.com
France’s National Digital Council (CNN), an advisory committee created by President Nicolas Sarkozy himself, has spoken out against a plan to punish frequent visitors of extremist websites. CNN, not to be confused with the news network, was established in April last year and plays an advisory role with the French government,...
French advisory council speaks out against Sarkozy’s plan to criminalize visiting extremist websites
Police investigate 'choc ice' tweet about Ashley Cole
www.guardian.co.uk
Derbyshire police start inquiry into Twitter comment after receiving complaints from publicPolice are investigating allegedly racist comments made against footballer Ashley Cole on Twitter, just days after his teammate John Terry was cleared of racism.A user, believed to be a man from Derbyshire, referred to Chelsea star Cole as a...
Whitney Houston iTunes price hike was a 'mistake', Sony says
www.guardian.co.uk
Label apologises for raising cost of singer's albums following her death, saying it was simply an 'employee error'Sony Music UK has apologised for raising the price of Whitney Houston albums following the singer's death on Saturday night. A spokesperson for the company called the move an "internal mistake due to...
Is the law criminalising 'improper' Twitter use a menace? | Amanda Bancroft
www.guardian.co.uk
Everything from jokes to racism is covered by section 127 of the Communications Act. Clarification is neededPaul Chambers. Sir Olly C. Joshua Cryer. The one thing the three men have in common is that all have been found guilty of offences under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 for...
Google's problem is that it now believes itself above others – even governments
www.guardian.co.uk
The FCC revelations showing that Google's engineer knew that Street View would collect data, followed by the company's obstructive behaviour to the investigation, show that it has grown too big for its managementIt's never the offence; it's the cover-up. And if there's one thing that the last few years have...
Racist Twitter user jailed for 56 days over abusive updates about footballer Fabrice Muamba
thenextweb.com
Liam Stacey of Pontypridd, South Wales has been given a 56 day custodial sentence after making what the judge called, “vile and abhorrent” comments, according to reports on the BBC and elswhere. 21 year old Stacey was arrested after his offensive comments, about the collapse of Bolton Wanderers footballer Fabrice Muamba...
Home secretary upholds decision to extradite Richard O'Dwyer
www.guardian.co.uk
Theresa May says she will not review case that could see Sheffield student facing 10 years in US jailThe home secretary, Theresa May, has told the House of Commons that she will not revisit plans to extradite Sheffield Hallam student Richard O'Dwyer to the US on copyright charges, saying the...
Let Twitter twits stew in their own juice | John Kampfner
www.guardian.co.uk
The best response to cruel, offensive or disgusting tweets, like the one about Tom Daley's father, is simply to ignore themWhere in the real world do Olympians, politicians and celebrities mingle with the sad and the bad, the attention-seeking and the hyperactive? (And I'm not just talking about journalists.) The...
Police In Tasmania Explain To The Public That Someone Saying Something Mean Online Is Not Illegal
www.techdirt.com
We've seen it over and over again: some people seem to think that if anyone says something you don't like about you online, it's illegal, and you can go after them for it. Of course, in most places that's not even close to true, but it doesn't stop some people...
Pinterest bigger than Tumblr? Depends who you ask, and where you draw the line
thenextweb.com
It’s a strange game, comparing the relative size of websites. The pageview, once the key metric that ruled them all, is in decline as technology leaves it slowly in the dust, gripping several ’90s business plans as it fades away. And yet we do it anyway, mostly because it’s fun,...
BHA to change 'flawed' whip rules
www.guardian.co.uk
• Paul Bittar calls current guidelines fundamentally flawed• New chief executive orders changes ahead of CheltenhamPaul Bittar, the new chief exective at the British Horseracing Authority, ordered changes to the controversial new whip rules describing the current guidelines as "fundamentally flawed".The BHA's tough stance on the use of the whip...
Charlie Brooks to keep trainer's licence despite criminal charge
www.guardian.co.uk
• Brooks charged with conspiracy to pervert course of justice• BHA to take no immediate action against Oxfordshire trainerCharlie Brooks' activities as a racehorse trainer will not be affected by the fact that he has been charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, the body that runs the...
Interpol accused after journalist arrested over Muhammad tweet
www.guardian.co.uk
Saudi Arabia used Interpol's system to get journalist arrested in Malaysia for insulting the Prophet Muhammad on TwitterInterpol has been accused of abusing its powers after Saudi Arabia used the organisation's red notice system to get a journalist arrested in Malaysia for insulting the Prophet Muhammad.Police in Kuala Lumpur said...
Fabrice Muamba tweeter loses appeal against 56-day jail sentence
www.guardian.co.uk
Student Liam Stacey convicted of racially aggravated public disorder after mocking football player on TwitterA student who mocked football star Fabrice Muamba on Twitter, after the Bolton player collapsed with a heart attack, has lost his appeal against a 56-day jail term.Liam Stacey, 21, of Pontypridd, south Wales, sobbed as...
Student who abused Fabrice Muamba on Twitter 'should not have been jailed'
www.guardian.co.uk
Thomas Hammarberg, the European commissioner for human rights, calls Liam Stacey's 56 day sentence excessiveThe Swansea student given 56 days in prison for posting racially offensive comments on Twitter should not have been jailed, according to Europe's most senior human rights official.In an interview the day before he left office,...
UK Pensioner Could Face Arrest For Atheist Poster
www.techdirt.com
Along with ridiculous libel cases, the UK is also infamous for laws that are designed to stop people hurting the feelings of others. Maybe that's a laudable aim, but the end-result is that they can cast a chill over freedom of speech. Here's a classic case from the English town...
The battle isn’t over for Kim Dotcom
www.bgr.com
Megauload’s found scored a victory recently when the raid against his mansion was determined to be illegal, but suspected Internet piracy kingpin Kim Dotcom still faces an uphill battle. While the case against him has weakened, Dotcom is stilling fighting an extradition motion that could see him moved from New Zealand...
Ravel Morrison pleads guilty of homophobic comment on Twitter
www.guardian.co.uk
• West Ham's 19-year-old midfielder admits FA charge• FA to decide punishment at a non-personal hearingThe West Ham United midfielder Ravel Morrison has admitted a Football Association charge of "using abusive and/or insulting words" after a homophobic remark on Twitter.The 19-year-old, who moved to Upton Park from Manchester United at...
Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
www.techdirt.com
Well, it's another one of those weeks where a single comment won both the "funniest" and "most insightful" categories -- and this week it did so by a hell of a lot -- over 50% more than second place in either category. Basically, you guys freaking loved this comment. It...
Arsène Wenger to appeal after being handed three-match ban by Uefa
www.guardian.co.uk
• Arsène Wenger fined €40,000 for confronting referee• 'They have transformed referees into untouchable icons'The season is coming to a relatively quiet conclusion for Arsenal, but their manager is throwing himself into the thick of another battle. Arsène Wenger has been fined €40,000 (£33,300) and sentenced to a three-game touchline...
That joke tweet could cost you £1000 and a day in court
thenextweb.com
A few months back we brought you the sorry tale of the man whose joke “bomb threat” tweet saw him arrested and charged by the police. Frustrated by poor weather closing his local airport in January, he tweeted “Robin Hood airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit...
OFFICIAL: Smart meters won't be compulsory
www.theregister.co.uk
No offence to refuse in Blighty Video So-called 'smart meters' will not be mandatory, the energy minister has confirmed. The pledge was made by Charles Hendry last Thursday, and confirmed to us by the Department of Energy and Climate Change today.…...
Google receives a €450 fine after its Street View car parks illegally in an Irish street
thenextweb.com
On the same day we reported that Google Earth was getting a bit of a facelift, news emerged that the Internet giant had been summoned to appear in an Irish court after one of its famous ‘Street View’ cars, replete with roof-mounted camera, had parked illegally on a street in...
Man assaulted female police officer with penis
www.zee.me
The court heard Marium Varinauskas had been drinking heavily A man who assaulted a female police officer with his penis has been fined. Marium Varinauskas, 28, tried to strike the officer on the head with his penis when she was called out to his flat, but she got out...
Brands may be paying celebrities for tweets, but who’s paying Twitter?
thenextweb.com
It seems you can’t even post a photo of yourself eating a chocolate bar on Twitter these days without kicking up a stink. On Tuesday, Manchester United and (former?) England defender Rio Ferdinand – with almost two million Twitter followers – posted this message, accompanied by a photo of himself...
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