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> That's obviously because a tweet is more public. That doesn't justify it at all. > Again, there are lots of countries where you can get arrested for publicl

> That's obviously because a tweet is more public. That doesn't justify it at all. > Again, there are lots of countries where you can get arrested for publicly saying something that's 'harmless' as far as the First Ammendment is concerned. There's nothing particularly notable about the UK in this respect. You're in denial. People in the UK get arrested for mundane things and there is no equivalent on the US. > A simple Google search will turn up examples of people being arrested and detained in the US for similarly silly reasons, e.g.: https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2012/01/british_touri https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2012/01/british_touri... I agree the example in the article was silly, but the people were not US citizens but were looking to enter the country, and had joked about destroying the USA. It was bad judgement to arrest them, but not the same as being arrested for wondering if transwomen competing in female sports is fair.

foldr 3y ago
>That doesn't justify it at all. I did not say it was justified. But you can't seriously be wondering why people don't typically get arrested for things they say in private conversations. The question answers itself. >You're in denial. People in the UK get arrested for mundane things and there is no equivalent on the US. They occasionally get arrested for saying some things that would be protected under the First Amendment in the US. I'll try making my point one more time: Very few countries have the same level of protection for free speech as the US. So it is easy to find examples of people being arrested in countries other than the US for saying things that would have been protected under the First Amendment in the US. (For example, hate speech can get you arrested in many countries, but not in the US.) There is nothing particularly notable about the UK in this regard, either worldwide or compared to other European countries. Also, you could stand to Google a bit harder for US examples: https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/new-hampshire-police-arrested-man-being-mean-them-internet https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/new-hampshire-police-a...
- PrimeMcFly 3y ago
  > I did not say it was justified. But you can't seriously be wondering why people don't typically get arrested for things they say in private conversations. The question answers itself. The point is people get arrested in the UK for mundane things, when they shouldn't. Just because it's public doesn't make it arrestable. People could stand in a park on a soapbox and not be arrested. > There is nothing particularly notable about the UK in this regard, either worldwide or compared to other European countries. The problem I have is that in the UK what constitutes hatespeech has been spread very, very thin. I've seen numerous stories about police showing up to someone's door in the UK for a tweet, for 'hatespeech'. I've read no such stories of that happening in Australia, NZ, Canada, or western European countries. So saying it's common in countries that have some form of free speech without it being as strong as the first amendment doesn't seem to fly. It seems to happen far more frequently in the UK. And the UK has recently started jailing protestors for their speech also. Not for hate speech or making violent threats. Free speech in the UK might just be the lowest of any first world country, and certainly of any English speaking country.
  - foldr 3y ago
    We’re mostly talking at cross purposes here. My points were: 1. None of this has to do with tweets specifically. 2. The UK is no different in this respect from most other countries that aren’t the US. You keep judging things by what you happen to have read in the news rather than actively looking for examples. This is leading you to make some inaccurate assumptions (such as e.g. that you can't be arrested in the UK for what you say in a park on a soapbox). Here are some relevant Google queries: "speakers corner" man arrested hate speech -gun arrested for tweet France arrested for tweet Germany arrested for tweet Spain -hack
    - PrimeMcFly 3y ago
      > We’re mostly talking at cross purposes here. I don't think we are, I just disagree with you. I think you're trying to downplay what's happening in the UK and act as though it's completely normal and common in other similar countries. It isn't. > None of this has to do with tweets specifically. Sure, it's general to online social media, but tweets are the main thing people are getting arrested for. > The UK is no different in this respect from most other countries that aren’t the US. And I've specifically outlined why I disagree with this. > You keep judging things by what you happen to have read in the news rather than actively looking for examples. Because people getting arrested for making tweets in the UK keeps making the news. There's a reason it doesn't make the news as much from other non-US countries - it isn't happening as often or as egregiously. > This is leading you to make some inaccurate assumptions (such as e.g. that you can't be arrested in the UK for what you say in a park on a soapbox) I'm not making any inaccurate assumptions, I'm sticking to cold hard facts. I didn't say you can't be arrested for saying something on a soapbox in the UK, I'm saying if the people who got arrested for their tweets said it from a soapbox they wouldn't have. Twitter was being treated differently. > Here are some relevant Google queries: And none of them return cases as egregiously as those in the UK. Again, in the UK what is being considered hate speech is far more general than other countries. Just to reinforce my point again, free speech in the UK is likely the lowest of any first world country. People were arrested just for protesting the new king, not being violent, no hate speech, nothing. Think about that before you come back so quick to defend the crown.

foldr 3y ago

>That doesn't justify it at all. I did not say it was justified. But you can't seriously be wondering why people don't typically get arrested for things they say in private conversations. The question answers itself. >You're in denial. People in the UK get arrested for mundane things and there is no equivalent on the US. They occasionally get arrested for saying some things that would be protected under the First Amendment in the US. I'll try making my point one more time: Very few countries have the same level of protection for free speech as the US. So it is easy to find examples of people being arrested in countries other than the US for saying things that would have been protected under the First Amendment in the US. (For example, hate speech can get you arrested in many countries, but not in the US.) There is nothing particularly notable about the UK in this regard, either worldwide or compared to other European countries. Also, you could stand to Google a bit harder for US examples: https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/new-hampshire-police-arrested-man-being-mean-them-internet https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/new-hampshire-police-a...

PrimeMcFly 3y ago
> I did not say it was justified. But you can't seriously be wondering why people don't typically get arrested for things they say in private conversations. The question answers itself. The point is people get arrested in the UK for mundane things, when they shouldn't. Just because it's public doesn't make it arrestable. People could stand in a park on a soapbox and not be arrested. > There is nothing particularly notable about the UK in this regard, either worldwide or compared to other European countries. The problem I have is that in the UK what constitutes hatespeech has been spread very, very thin. I've seen numerous stories about police showing up to someone's door in the UK for a tweet, for 'hatespeech'. I've read no such stories of that happening in Australia, NZ, Canada, or western European countries. So saying it's common in countries that have some form of free speech without it being as strong as the first amendment doesn't seem to fly. It seems to happen far more frequently in the UK. And the UK has recently started jailing protestors for their speech also. Not for hate speech or making violent threats. Free speech in the UK might just be the lowest of any first world country, and certainly of any English speaking country.
- foldr 3y ago
  We’re mostly talking at cross purposes here. My points were: 1. None of this has to do with tweets specifically. 2. The UK is no different in this respect from most other countries that aren’t the US. You keep judging things by what you happen to have read in the news rather than actively looking for examples. This is leading you to make some inaccurate assumptions (such as e.g. that you can't be arrested in the UK for what you say in a park on a soapbox). Here are some relevant Google queries: "speakers corner" man arrested hate speech -gun arrested for tweet France arrested for tweet Germany arrested for tweet Spain -hack
  - PrimeMcFly 3y ago
    > We’re mostly talking at cross purposes here. I don't think we are, I just disagree with you. I think you're trying to downplay what's happening in the UK and act as though it's completely normal and common in other similar countries. It isn't. > None of this has to do with tweets specifically. Sure, it's general to online social media, but tweets are the main thing people are getting arrested for. > The UK is no different in this respect from most other countries that aren’t the US. And I've specifically outlined why I disagree with this. > You keep judging things by what you happen to have read in the news rather than actively looking for examples. Because people getting arrested for making tweets in the UK keeps making the news. There's a reason it doesn't make the news as much from other non-US countries - it isn't happening as often or as egregiously. > This is leading you to make some inaccurate assumptions (such as e.g. that you can't be arrested in the UK for what you say in a park on a soapbox) I'm not making any inaccurate assumptions, I'm sticking to cold hard facts. I didn't say you can't be arrested for saying something on a soapbox in the UK, I'm saying if the people who got arrested for their tweets said it from a soapbox they wouldn't have. Twitter was being treated differently. > Here are some relevant Google queries: And none of them return cases as egregiously as those in the UK. Again, in the UK what is being considered hate speech is far more general than other countries. Just to reinforce my point again, free speech in the UK is likely the lowest of any first world country. People were arrested just for protesting the new king, not being violent, no hate speech, nothing. Think about that before you come back so quick to defend the crown.