Posting on Social Media

[Diasi]

The Free Speech Union has a page where it shows all the relevant legislation that regulates what can & cannot be posted on social media platforms & China & North Korea must be quite envious.

Basically it consists of a whole mishmash of different Acts which all have different criteria but which all have one very disturbing common factor, namely an offence is committed based on the subjective (personal) view of the police & the CPS.

The dictionary definition of subjective is Based on, or influenced by, personal feelings, tastes, or opinions. A subjective perspective can also be called a personal perspective or an individual point of view. Subjective views do not have to be provable or grounded in fact.

It's virtually impossible to discuss any news item on social media without running the risk of a third party deciding what your intention was, although personally it wasn't, & whether or not it breaks the law.

[JBR]

This does appear to suggest that the police and the courts, and no doubt indirectly the government and civil service, can decide for themselves what is and what is not acceptable.

I have been fortunate to live most of my life in a free and fairly-governed country which did not permit any such personal opinions of people in power to have any direct influence on how we live.  I suppose I ought to specify that the country in question was actually the United Kingdom.

How things are changing today after all this time.  Are we before too long to become like such places as North Korea and Russia?

[Diasi]

This does appear to suggest that the police and the courts, and no doubt indirectly the government and civil service, can decide for themselves what is and what is not acceptable.

I have been fortunate to live most of my life in a free and fairly-governed country which did not permit any such personal opinions of people in power to have any direct influence on how we live.  I suppose I ought to specify that the country in question was actually the United Kingdom.

How things are changing today after all this time.  Are we before too long to become like such places as North Korea and Russia?

It's another set of laws that are not fit for purpose, just like the law that says you can use reasonable force to defend yourself.

As soon as the word 'reasonable' is used the laws become meaningless since the prosecution cannot possibly prove that I didn't genuinely think what action I took or what I posted was reasonable.

It should be irrelevant what another person thinks would have been reasonable.

We've already taken the first steps to becoming like North Korea & Russia & China, albeit the penalties won't be as harsh but, nevertheless, we still have significant penalties.