[governance] Caution on Twitter urged as tourists barred from US

Deirdre Williams williams.deirdre at gmail.com
Tue Jan 31 13:15:46 EST 2012 

I was horrified when I read the first in this string of messages a couple
of hours ago.
For one thing the word 'destroy' has been used with this sense in the
English language vernacular of Ireland for at least the last 50 years (it
predates the slang use of 'bad' as 'excellent').
For another thing, like Kerry, I am terrified by the idea that the concept
of 'private' conversation is eroding to the point of non-existence.
And also - surely a basic premise of law is that legislation should be
balanced by the right of appeal?
And then again there's basic common sense - but that seems to have become
subject to regulation.
Deirdre

On 31 January 2012 13:17, Aldo Matteucci <aldo.matteucci at gmail.com> wrote:

> Matthias,
>
> thank you for the clarifying reply, but I'd tend to raise questions anyway:
> while tweeting may be overheard by the power that be,
> *tweeting is used and intended by both sides of the echange as PRIVATE
> communications*
> they spoke in their "private mode"
> subject to all the personal rules of such an exchange.
> They would not have spoken so in public, had they been in public,
> out of the concerns the judge mentioned. But no public was present.
>
> All of us have "special words" and "hidden messages"
> wee share - it is part of the "in group" feel.
> A good example is the use of the "f-word" which, in private conversation
> simply emphasizes, but has not literal meaning.
>
> Now when these words are overheard, and brutally taken out of the private
> realm and into the public space,
> they must offend. But the error is with the authorities, not with those
> who spoke privately, and intended to do so.
>
> I'm concerned not only that private conversations are overheard,
> but the very use of private language be banned
> or subject to PC rules.
>
> In NZ a "anti-smacking" law was introduced wich,
> in my view, risks having a "morality policemen" inside every home.
> I'm not speaking of violence against children - that's covered, and no
> need for further law.
> But to go as far as spanking... it's frightening.
> Life is an ongoing process
> the law is a final stop
>
> Aldo
>
>
> On 31 January 2012 17:42, Matthias C. Kettemann <
> matthias.kettemann at uni-graz.at> wrote:
>
>> Generally, yes, but one man's joke is another man's threat. In the
>> 'Twitter joke trial' in the UK a man was fined for tweeting - as a joke, he
>> argued - that he would blow an airport 'sky high' if it didn't open in
>> time. The appeals court judge in his case (dismissing his appeal) wrote (as
>> summarized by UK HR Blog) that as an "educated man in his mid-20s, [he]
>> must at least have been aware that in the current climate of concern about
>> terrorist threats, his message might be taken as menacing – the mental
>> element of the offence (that is, what he was thinking at the time) was
>> therefore also made out." See: http://ukhumanrightsblog.com/**
>> 2010/12/02/do-offensive-**tweeters-have-freedom-of-**expression-rights/<http://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2010/12/02/do-offensive-tweeters-have-freedom-of-expression-rights/>
>>
>> The US Constitution, Art 19 ICCPR and Article 10 ECHR protect jokes, just
>> as any other form of speech, but there are limits to these rights.
>> Restrictions are possible if they are "in accordance with law", pursue a
>> legitime aim (e.g. national security, public safety, protecting the rights
>> of others) and are "necessary in a democratic society".
>>
>> When it comes to border control agents, the situation is different
>> insofar as tourist don't have a right to enter the US and border patrol
>> agents thus a rather large leeway in establishing reasons to deny access.
>>
>> Seriously
>> Matthias
>>
>>
>>
>> Am 31.01.2012 16:40, schrieb "Kleinwächter, Wolfgang":
>>
>>  Hi
>>>
>>> is "joking" protected by the first amendement of the US constitution and
>>> part of Article 19 (right to freedom of exression) of the UN Human Rights
>>> Declaration?
>>>
>>> wolfgang
>>>
>>> ______________________________**__
>>>
>>> Von: governance-request at lists.**igcaucus.org<governance-request at lists.igcaucus.org>im Auftrag von Riaz K Tayob
>>> Gesendet: Di 31.01.2012 16:23
>>> An: governance at lists.igcaucus.org
>>> Betreff: [governance] Caution on Twitter urged as tourists barred from US
>>>
>>>
>>> 31 January 2012 Last updated at 12:51 GMT
>>>
>>>
>>> Caution on Twitter urged as tourists barred from US
>>>
>>>   Post-9/11 USA is highly cautious of any perceived threat, Abta said
>>>
>>>
>>> Holidaymakers have been warned to watch their words after two friends
>>> were refused entry to the US on security grounds after a tweet.
>>>
>>> Before his trip, Leigh Van Bryan wrote that he was going to "destroy
>>> America".
>>>
>>> He insisted he was referring to simply having a good time - but was sent
>>> home.
>>>
>>> Trade association Abta told the BBC that the case highlighted that
>>> holidaymakers should never do anything to raise "concern or suspicion in
>>> any way".
>>>
>>> The US Department for Homeland Security picked up Mr Bryan's messages
>>> ahead of his holiday in Los Angeles.
>>>
>>> The 26-year-old bar manager wrote a message to a friend on the
>>> micro-blogging service, saying: "Free this week, for quick gossip/prep
>>> before I go and destroy America."
>>>
>>> The Irish national told the Sun newspaper<http://www.thesun.**
>>> co.uk/sol/homepage/news/**4095372/Twitter-news-US-bars-**
>>> friends-over-Twitter-joke.html<http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4095372/Twitter-news-US-bars-friends-over-Twitter-joke.html>
>>> **>   that he and his friend Emily Bunting were apprehended on arrival
>>> at Los Angeles International Airport before being sent home.
>>>
>>> "The Homeland Security agents were treating me like some kind of
>>> terrorist," Mr Bryan said.
>>>
>>> "I kept saying they had got the wrong meaning from my tweet."
>>>
>>> No joke
>>>
>>> Abta, which represents travel companies in the UK, said holidaymakers
>>> need to learn to be ultra-cautious when it comes to talking about
>>> forthcoming trips, particularly after 9/11.
>>>
>>> Continue reading the main story<http://www.bbc.co.uk/**
>>> news/technology-16810312#**story_continues_2<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16810312#story_continues_2>
>>> >
>>>
>>> "Start Quote
>>>
>>>
>>>        Airport security staff do not have a sense of humour when it
>>> comes to potential risk"
>>>
>>> Abta
>>>
>>> "Posting statements in a public forum which could be construed as
>>> threatening - in this case saying they are going to "destroy" somewhere -
>>> will not be viewed sympathetically by US authorities," it told the BBC.
>>>
>>> "In the past we have seen holidaymakers stopped at airport security for
>>> 'joking' that they have a bomb in their bag, thoroughly questioned and
>>> ending up missing their flights, demonstrating that airport security staff
>>> do not have a sense of humour when it comes to potential risk."
>>>
>>> In another tweet, Mr Bryan made reference to comedy show Family Guy
>>> saying that he would be in LA in three weeks, annoying people "and diggin'
>>> Marilyn Monroe up".
>>>
>>> Mr Bryan told the newspaper that he was questioned for five hours about
>>> his Twitter messages.
>>>
>>> 'Tweeter account'
>>>
>>> After the interview, Homeland Security's reported: "Mr Bryan confirmed
>>> that he had posted on his Tweeter website account that he was coming to the
>>> United States to dig up the grave of Marilyn Monroe.
>>>
>>> "Also on his tweeter account Mr Bryan posted he was coming to destroy
>>> America."
>>>
>>>   Paul Chambers was fined after posting a message about Robin Hood
>>> Airport
>>>
>>> The US Customs and Border Protection agency said in a statement that it
>>> tried to maintain a balance between "securing our borders while
>>> facilitating the high volume of legitimate trade and travel that crosses
>>> our borders every day".
>>>
>>> It added: "We strive to achieve that balance and show the world that the
>>> United States is a welcoming nation."
>>>
>>> Mr Bryan is not the only person to suffer from a misjudged tweet. In
>>> January 2010, Paul Chambers tweeted that he would blow snow-affected Robin
>>> Hood Airport in Doncaster "sky high!" if it was not reopened in time for
>>> him to see his girlfriend.
>>>
>>> He was fined £385 plus £2,600 in costs - a sum which actor Stephen Fry
>>> offered to pay on Mr Chambers' behalf.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> --
>>
>> Univ.-Ass. Mag. iur. Matthias C. Kettemann, LL.M. (Harvard)
>>
>> Institut für Völkerrecht und Internationale Beziehungen
>> Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
>>
>> Universitätsstraße 15/A4, 8010 Graz, Österreich
>>
>> T | +43 316 380 6711 (Büro)
>> M | +43 676 701 7175 (mobil)
>> F | +43 316 380 9455
>> E | matthias.kettemann at uni-graz.at
>> Blog | internationallawandtheinternet**.blogspot.com<http://internationallawandtheinternet.blogspot.com>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Mag. iur. Matthias C. Kettemann, LL.M. (Harvard)
>> Teaching and Research Fellow
>>
>> Institute of International Law and International Relations
>> University of Graz
>>
>> Universitätsstraße 15/A4, 8010 Graz, Austria
>>
>> T | +43 316 380 6711 (office)
>> M | +43 676 701 7175 (mobile)
>> F | +43 316 380 9455
>> E | matthias.kettemann at uni-graz.at
>> Blog | internationallawandtheinternet**.blogspot.com<http://internationallawandtheinternet.blogspot.com>
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
> --
> Aldo Matteucci
> 65, Pourtalèsstr.
> CH 3074 MURI b. Bern
> Switzerland
> aldo.matteucci at gmail.com
>
>
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-- 
“The fundamental cure for poverty is not money but knowledge" Sir William
Arthur Lewis, Nobel Prize Economics, 1979
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