Offence of sending letters etc. with intent to cause distress or anxiety.

(1) Any person who sends to another person—

(a) a letter, electronic communication or article of any description] which conveys—

(i) a message which is indecent or grossly offensive;

(ii) a threat; or

(iii) information which is false and known or believed to be false by the sender; or

(b) any article or electronic communication] which is, in whole or part, of an indecent or grossly offensive nature,

is guilty of an offence if his purpose, or one of his purposes, in sending it is that it should, so far as falling within paragraph (a) or (b) above, cause distress or anxiety to the recipient or to any other person to whom he intends that it or its contents or nature should be communicated.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/27

The license to publish or broadcast fear, hate, racism, denigration, ridicule, personal attack, whatever that has marked "discourse" in the US for the last couple of decades has pretty much brought the country to its knees. It has become an ugly place.

That's fucked up.

The First Amendment says only that the government cannot prevent you, a priori, from having your say, but you can be held accountable for what you say. If I were to go online and identify you as a child molester, even though you''re not, you could sue me and you would probably win.


Just today, in fact, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that cyber harassment is not protected under the first amendment.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2014/12/23/mass-high-court-rules-cyber-harassment-not-protected-speech/Yj9z70lzwDpXn3vpmUpjfO/story.html?p1=Topofpage:sub_headline_3

For instance, charging someone with "incitement" for wearing a "Can't Breathe" t-shirt.

The non-stop spewing of poison by the right-wing noise machine. It has brought the country close to ruin.

This is not anything close to what the Founders had in mind -- just as the current gun insanity here isn't what they had in mind by the Second Amendment.

The Constitution is in serious need of repair, except that the constant spewing of hate speech by the corporatist hate mongers -- hiding behind the First Amendment -- will probably prevent that from happening.

You, or the very lobbyists who have poisoned the existing Constitution?

not like or agree with you?

The freedumb to have thousands of gun deaths every year...

Yeee Hawwww!!

The government needs the power to restrict them to the social good.

to see if he has a habit of making tasteless offensive jokes in pubs and in his workplace, before they determine his punishment.

Too much shit has been criminalized in this country already. And besides, you know damn well who would be deciding what is "offensive." Further, there is no "right to not be offended." Thankfully.

who would just LOVE to be able to arrest people for "blaspheming Jesus Christ". Not least because it would guarantee their reelection.