The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for England and Wales is issuing Orwellian threats to prosecute people for social media posts and even reposts inciting “hatred” amid ongoing anti-mass migration protests, branding them “online violence.”
“Think before you post,” the state prosecutor threatens on social media, warning: “Content that incites violence or hatred isn’t just harmful—it can be illegal.”
“The CPS takes online violence seriously and will prosecute when the legal test is met,” it continues. “Remind those close to you to share responsibly or face the consequences.”
A video accompanying the threat stresses that not only can you be “prosecuted for posting material online which incites violence or hatred,” but “You can also be prosecuted for sharing this material.”
‘SCOURING SOCIAL MEDIA.’
Director of Public Prosecutions of England and Wales (DPP) Stephen Parkinson—whose role was previously filled by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer—says that “dedicated police officers… are scouring social media,” warning: “Their job is to look for this material and then follow up with identification, arrests, and so forth.”
Britons enjoy no First Amendment-style free speech protections, and prosecutions over, for example, offensive jokes shared in private messages are commonplace.
Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights confers a notional “freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.” However, this is caveated with a warning that the “exercise of these freedoms… may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.”
Think before you post! 📲✋ Content that incites violence or hatred isn't just harmful – it can be illegal.
The CPS takes online violence seriously and will prosecute when the legal test is met. Remind those close to you to share responsibly or face the consequences. pic.twitter.com/5gxnUH02yw
— Crown Prosecution Service (@CPSUK) August 7, 2024