Offensive facebook messages towards April Jones

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2214167/April-Jones-Man-20-charged-posting-offensive-Facebook-comments-missing-girl.html

"A man was yesterday charged with posting offensive comments on Facebook about April Jones.
Matthew Wood, 20, from Chorley, Lancashire, will appear at the town's magistrates' court tomorrow morning over comments posted about the missing five-year-old girl from Machynlleth, Wales.
He was arrested and charged under Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 with sending a message or other matter that is grossly offensive on a public electronic communications network."

What are your thoughts on this decision? Do you feel it justifiable to prosecute someone for being 'grossly offensive'?

I personally feel that they are simply bowing to peer pressure by all those who complained about the comments. Thousands upon thousands of internet users in the UK make equally offensive comments on a daily basis...is the Government going to prosecute all of them as well?

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Reply 1

Jack93o

so what did he actually post? :confused:

Reply 2

JordanS94

I think it was to make an example so that it'll stop... but it wont, trolls don't stop :frown:

I'm surprised the group 'Hang Mark Bridger' is still up all the people being offensive towards him (I do believe he has done it but he hasn't even been convicted yet) Saying he should die when they haven't even prove it was him yet, what happens if it wasn't him what are they going to say after all the abuse.

Reply 3

Emmak7

I agree that it's probably down to the pressure of the ones who complained about the comments.

But I don't think that it's a bad/wrong thing that he got prosecuted. I mean, it depends on what he said of course, but it could count as hateful speech, right?
Plus, it's definitely not a bad thing if our society becomes more sensitive to those issues and we send out the message that insensitive and hateful speech is NOT acceptable.

On the above grounds, I think it can be justified.

Whether the government is consistent or not is a different issue; should it be? Probably, yeah. Is it? Nope. Should they try harder to be? Uhhh I guess. But I value beneficial consequences more than consistency.

Reply 4

34253

It was the standard "What's the difference between Maddie McCann and the pope" joke. Obviously it was updated. Pretty sick but a fairly bog standard pub joke. No need to get the police involved.

Reply 5

34253

Original post by G8D

This sort of activity is becoming worryingly common.

Are you referring to the policing of it, or the so-called trolling? Because as far as I can tell, all that has happened is there are more idiots joining the 'internet' community who are essentially internet illiterates who get that these prats are just trying to get people's backs up for the lolz.

Reply 6

34253

Original post by G8D

Are referring to a certain place on the internet through naivety or are you talking generally?

I was referring to the policing of it. People will always voice opinions and push boundaries on the internet and I don't think that most of the circumstances merit police involvement.

Trolling isn't new.

I was genuinely confused about what you meant. I'm sick to death of the police getting involved in internet stuff more and more...

Reply 7

Redolent

Original post by Elipsis

It was the standard "What's the difference between Maddie McCann and the pope" joke. Obviously it was updated. Pretty sick but a fairly bog standard pub joke. No need to get the police involved.

Is that seriously all it was? A distasteful joke?

Reply 8

Cll_ws

It seems as though it solely depends on the person the "offense" was directed at, and the timing of it, as to whether they feel it's worth doing anything about. This guy could probably say the same thing in a years time and nobody would bat an eyelid.

Similarly, I could receive the most offensive message imaginable online tonight, but whether the police would think it's worth their time i'm not so sure.

It just seems as though they react when they're pressured to, so not to upset the public that get worked up about this kind of thing in sensitive times. And that sure is no way to enforce the law :rolleyes:

Reply 9

Kiss

I want to know what Matthew Wood said, but I'm assuming that it couldn't have been anything which was a direct threat or incured fighting words.

To be hauled off to court for saying something on the internet is now becoming worringly common and I think this wouldn't have happened if he'd waited about 3 months when this maybe had died down.

I'm by no means defending what he said - largely because I don't know what it was - but I'm totally against this whole PC business of 'offensiveness'. Whatever he said, it was probably taken to extremities by those who want to find April Jones and are destitute to attack anyone who they perceive as an obstacle in their line of sight. He shouldn't have been arrested IMO.

Reply 10

democracyforum

couldn't he use a proxy browsing server ?

Reply 11

democracyforum

Original post by Jack93o

so what did he actually post? :confused:

Ask and find out

http://www.facebook.com/OfficialFindApril

Reply 12

Jabberwox

Sadly there isn't much the law can do about people being dickheads on the internet.

What makes it worse is when people feed the trolls by putting 'OH YOU'RE SO HORRIBLE, YOU DESERVE TO ROT IN HELL' etc and it escalates. People should merely dismiss them as sad, ignorant, sick little prats and ignore it completely.

Reply 13

WillowLeaves

This is so stupid. If he'd said whatever he said in the pub or on the bus, nobody would have cared. But because he said it on Facebook, he deserves to go to court?

Reply 14

Kiss

Original post by Jabberwox

Why sadly? It's about the last place you can openly say something without persecution but even that is coming under threat.

Reply 15

theonefrombrum

Bit of a knob, I really hope he one day has to feel the fear and pain that April must have and then see how he likes it if someone made offensive posts about him.

Some people just need a good slap to put them in place, the Internet just makes people feel like they're invincible but what they fail to realise is that in every trolling comment that they post, we can see that they are infact a complete bell end who everyone must overtly hate or put up with because they buy rounds all the time.

Reply 16

democracyforum

one of these people is him , real pictures from his twitter

Reply 17

Snagprophet

Original post by democracyforum

He certainly looks fairly capable of sophisticated discussion.

In all fairness, I'd imagine this was done more because this girl's murder was yet again another media sensation than that he didn't feel sympathy. What about the thousands of people, hundreds of children, who are murdered/abused that get no media coverage?

People go on about 9/11, so people take the piss out of it. People go on about Madeline, so people take the piss out of it. Religious people always bring forward crazy ideas, so people take the piss out of it.

Reply 18

ArtGoblin

People need to learn to be careful about what they post under their own name. I'm sure we'd be pretty safe posting the same joke on TSR other than being warned which would actually reach a lot more people than posting it on Facebook. Whether it should be a criminal offence or not I'm unsure... on one hand if you were to shout it out in the middle of the street in front where police could respond, you would probably be arrested, and social media does reach a lot more people than you would on the street. On the other, it seems completely wrong that someone should go to prison for something stupid like that. I'm not one for yelling "free speech" to get away with saying disgusting things and I am a big supporter of political correctness but this wasn't an attack on a particular group or an attempt to incite hatred. This was one idiot trying to get attention and not really causing any harm, and getting arrested seems like an overreaction.

Reply 19

Jou33

Original post by WillowLeaves

This is so stupid. If he'd said whatever he said in the pub or on the bus, nobody would have cared. But because he said it on Facebook, he deserves to go to court?

A bus or a pub aren't public forums. So the chances of the joke getting back to people who care for April Jones are very low. Personally i don't agree with him being dragged to court just because he's a thick, ignorant cretin. But i do think that he deserves some form of punishment. How would you feel if you lost a loved one and then heard a mouth breather like Woods tell a joke about them? No more that me, i'd imagine. I think a big reason he was taken into custody was because a mob had formed at his address with every intention of lynching him. I think that he's getting off lightly under the circumstances, don't you?