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<h1><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/19269353">UK 'too
heavy-handed' with Twitter and online trolls</a></h1>
<p class="published">Page last updated at <span class="date">06:00
GMT, Monday, 20 August 2012 07:00 UK</span></p>
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<div id="story-body"> <span class="byline byline-photo"> <img
src="cid:part2.09030301.03030908@gmail.com" alt="Declan
Harvey"> <span class="author-name">By Declan Harvey</span><br>
<span class="author-position">Newsbeat reporter</span> </span><span
style="width:466px" class="caption full-width"> </span>
<p class="introduction">Police and prosecutors in the UK are
accused of being "incredibly heavy-handed" when dealing with
online trolls and abusive messages.</p>
<p>It follows several cases where young people have been arrested,
fined or jailed after posting insulting comments on their
Twitter and Facebook accounts.</p>
<p>Campaign groups and experts from Oxford University say the
punishments are heavier than in other countries.</p>
<p>But police insist if a law is broken they will take action.</p>
<span class="cross-head">Freedom of speech</span>
<p>Three weeks ago Olympic bronze medallist Tom Daley received a
message about his dad, who died last year.</p>
<p>Following that a 17-year-old was arrested in Weymouth.</p>
<div class="story-feature ">
<h2>Heavy-handed policing?</h2>
<a class="hidden"
href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/19269353#skip_feature_02">Continue
reading the main story</a> <span style="width:226px"
class="caption"> </span>
<ul>
<li> Liam Stacey, 21, (above) was sentenced to 56 days for
"racist" tweets about footballer Fabrice Muamba</li>
<li> Paul Chambers, 28, was fined £1,000 for tweeting "joke"
about blowing up airport in Sheffield. The verdict was
overturned in June 2012</li>
<li> Joshua Cryer, 21, was sentenced to a two-year community
order and 240 hours unpaid work for racist tweets to Stan
Collymore</li>
</ul>
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<p>His computer and phone were seized and he was given a
harassment warning, which will stay on his record.</p>
<p>The UK is one of the world's top tweeting countries along with
Japan, Spain and the US. </p>
<p>Lucia lives in Valladolid in Spain and says: "I don't think
these comments are good but I don't think people should go to
jail. In Spain it's not happened."</p>
<p>Miyu, from Japan, called the UK's approach "surprising" and
says: "It's difficult, but I think being arrested is too serious
because it's [only] Twitter."</p>
<p>Laura from Washington DC believes it would never happen in the
US because they "emphasis freedom of speech, which I think is
important. It's translated over to Twitter as well".</p>
<p>Official figures showing how many arrests have been made over
online comments don't exist. </p>
<p>Instead police record arrests under different categories
depending on what is posted.</p>
<p>For example, it could be incitement to racial hatred or
harassment.</p>
<p><strong>H</strong><strong>eavy</strong><strong>-</strong><strong>handed</strong></p>
<p>Bernie Hogan from the Oxford Internet Institute monitors what
happens in other countries.</p>
<span style="width:226px" class="caption"> Lucia from Spain
does not think internet trolls should be sent to jail </span>
<p>He said that although the UK was "leading the way" in cracking
down on this type of online abuse, by comparison "we are
incredibly heavy-handed".</p>
<p>The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) disagrees.</p>
<p>In a statement is says: "People have a right to publish their
views but when these views become indecent, threatening or
offensive then the individuals they affect also have the right
to report them.</p>
<p>"The police will assist with any prosecution." </p>
<p>The Campaign Against Censorship says often a joke or sarcasm is
misread, especially when people only have 140 characters. </p>
<p>Index, which campaigns for freedom of expression, say the cases
are "silly" and the police only pursues them because they are
"easy prosecutions".</p>
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