[TenOfThem]

(Original post by DanielMartin)
Is he dead? Well then the guy is obviously a liar or a very bad criminal.

Or was not given the opportunity to follow through

[Tedaus]

(Original post by Samus2)
What about the replies that that guy got? Some of those were malicious comments. They should be treated the same way.

Exactly. There were Facebook groups and Twitter messages to him telling him to kill himself etc.

I didn't know he'd sent death threats to him, but I don't know. Should things we say online be policed just because they're brought in the public eye? I could go and send a death threat to somebody who isn't famous like Tom Daley is, but get nothing done to me. It's hypocrisy in my opinion and there's no real way you can police the internet.

[Integral]

(Original post by DanielMartin)
Yes but anybody who posts their intentions on twitter, I fear are very deluded criminals bordering the psychotic rather than the malicious.

Which is irelevant.

[Miracle Day]

(Original post by DanielMartin)
Utter rubbish, then it's not free speech. He had every right to say that as Tom Daley is an absolute waste of space - I'm sorry but anybody can jump off a diving board into a pool of water, heck with a bath tub and an imagination we can all achieve gold.

Screw him. His parents, deceased or alive and other accomplishments are right to be scrutinized as he is in the public light. If the media didn't reveal any of that information then by all means the twitter point would of been rendered moot.

p.s. It was hardly a death threat, I mean come on. It's like the guy who got arrested after he furiously joked that he was going to bomb the airport because the plane was delayed. It would be an issue if Tom Daley was actually killed but he's fine, well and coming 4th .... so what does it matter?

Did you just say this.

I would love for you to stand on a 10 foot diving board and jump off, you'd probably cry and walk back down the stairs route

[Miracle Day]

Don't argue with idiots :/

How do you know he never emotionally harmed him

(Original post by Integral)
Which is irelevant.

[dgeorge]

(Original post by chrisawhitmore)
Following the arrest of the person responsible for sending a stupid, offensive message to diver Tom Daley for 'malicious communications', and the apparent final nail in the coffin of free speech in the UK, I would like to invite members to discuss the validity of arresting someone for sending an offensive twitter comment, and report any similar crimes they have been a victim of to the appropriate authorities.


List of UK police forces: http://www.met.police.uk/links/index.htm#ukpolice

Daley article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19059127

Erm what?

Free speech does NOT mean you can say whatever you like without consequences.

And this has been for all of eternity, this is not a sudden development

[Miracle Day]

(Original post by DanielMartin)
I wouldn't even bother as I find sport the most pointless human activity ever invented.

Haha okay, you probably spend your life on Runescape.

[Schmucks]

(Original post by DanielMartin)
I wouldn't even bother as I find sport the most pointless human activity ever invented.

The health benefits that come with most would disagree with you on an objective basis there, but you continue to push your subjective views as perceived fact like the rest of your posts here. You're doing a grand job.

[A.J10]

A lot of these cases have been brought up recently, most of them are being dismissed.

As people have stated before, this is a waste of resources before anything else. The guy writing the threat was clearly being something that would be censored here, but it wasn't a serious threat, hell I doubt you'd find any person who uses twitter who honestly would feel this is a real threat rather than stupid coment #912819237124717936445634994

[chrisawhitmore]

(Original post by HDBrowne)
What's your definition of threatened? because I'm sorry to inform you it's probably wrong.

No you left this comment without looking into it.

If you read my original post, I thought I had made it reasonably clear that I didn't defend what he said. Apparently calling it stupid and offensive was a little too subtle for you. As to the threats he made, again, they were stupid, but not unusual for the internet and certainly not credible. It seems to me that the police responded because a celebrity was involved, which strikes me as a rather worrying blow to the idea that all people are equal before the law, and that the police response was a massive overreaction, wasting their time and a large amount of money (particularly if this is charged, see the numerous failed attempts to convict someone for making a joke about bombing an airport if they didn't sort their selves out http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolog...igh-Court.html).

[vedderfan94]

Wow, I've had far worse death threats on facebook from butthurt people lol. I really should report them so they get arrested.

[Integral]

(Original post by DanielMartin)
Not irrelevant at all, it comes down to a simple fact: Did he harm tom daley? No? Well then it's a problem of british tolerance, not of hate.

and to think you said you were far beyond average intelligence a few months ago.

[dgeorge]

(Original post by paddy__power)
It isn't but it very clearly isn't a serious threat. You have to apply a context to things to police effectively.

It doesn't have to be a "serious threat" to be a criminal offense. This is NOT some "new law" but simply an application of the laws already on the books. Just because someone makes a threat they don't intend to carry out doesn't make it "ok"

[TurboCretin]

(Original post by Lilahx)
If I received texts like that on my Phone and went to the police their response would be different. Because its twitter Its somehow different.

If you received death threats on your phone, their response would be the same.

[Daydreamer18]

His twitter was full of vile tweets. Numerous death threats and also racism. He deserved to be arrested.

[dgeorge]

(Original post by DanielMartin)
Well it's free speech isn't it? I mean, I will be the first to concede it doesn't truly exist and of course never existed - but it's a threat for christ sake. It's meaningless.

If he was truly serious, do you think he would of posted it on twitter knowing that the police would be able to find him, and that Daley would have his security stepped up anyway so he would have about a 2% chance of actually harming him?

I mean, there is such a thing as bad taste jokes and pure sarcasm - The remark was made in frustration at him not winning any medals, do you really think he would go and actively kill the person who then dead, negates the chance of winning any medals in the first place and thus eventually kills himself as he has killed the enabler of his aspirations? i.e. he kills tom daley but as a result can't bask in the national glory of any medals and thus kills himself too.

Come on.

P.s. Garner attention? You were the first to make a post on this thread... you are no different to the entire 99% of idiots that exist.

No is it not. You obviously do not understand the concept of "free speech" Free speech comes with responsibilities. If you ignore your responsibilities and decide to abuse your right to free speech, then you are rightly liable to punishment

[shezshez]

Okay guys, freedom of speech is the ****test argument I have ever heard, it does not give you the right to harass/distress/abuse other people, no, not even on the internet.

'Freedom of speech is the political right to communicate one's opinions and ideas via speech. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used. In practice, the right to freedom of speech is not absolute in any country and the right is commonly subject to limitations, as with libel, slander, obscenity and incitement to commit a crime.'

And to the people who said it's wasn't a serious threat, how do you know?

[chrisawhitmore]

(Original post by Clare~Bear)
Do you hate Tom too OP?

I'm all for freedom of speach, but death threats are over the top and you don't know how serious they could become.

Hi, I thought the use of the words stupid and offensive made it clear, but just in case that was to subtle, no, I don't agree with what he said, I simply disagree with arresting him for a clearly non-credible threat, as it wastes police time and money, as well as setting a rather dangerous precedent for people being arrested for saying stupid things in the heat of the moment. I think Tom and Pete did really well, and it was just a shame that their 4th dive let them down, though you have to give credit to the other teams, particularly mexico, for setting such a high standard (the 4.1 difficulty dive was ridiculously good).

[mikeyd85]

OP, you can't really complain. Since the dawn of the internet you've been able to get away with being a dick on the internet. Legislation is only just about catching up. There are still plenty of places you can get away with being a dick, or even worse, a proper **** without getting caught.

It's all about discretion.

You'll likely never be arrested for saying that you're going to kill Tom in your own home in front of your mates, but if you're going to shout it from the top of a building with a megaphone, it ain't going to end well...

Ultimately, this guy deserves what he gets. Not only is he a dick, he's a moronic dick with no real idea of what he can and can't get away with. With any luck, he'll learn and start to define boundaries. Not that I think it's likely. Still, even if only 1 in every 100 dicks starts to learn to to live without the dick inside him coming out to play in public, then we'll be better off.

[Integral]

(Original post by DanielMartin)
Yes well I see no reason you provide that suggests you're anything but a whore or even intelligent. I mean you accuse me of being an attention seeker when YOU'RE the one with a big picture of yourself posing for your own egotistical gains. Come now,

Try and keep on topic. If you can't do that, the very least you can do is insult in a way that outmatches the vocabulary of a rebelling 12 year old.