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In many cases the “free speech” genuinely is racial hatred bordering on incitement. But on the other hand there genuinely have been many people arrested (and i

In many cases the “free speech” genuinely is racial hatred bordering on incitement. But on the other hand there genuinely have been many people arrested (and in some cases convicted) under these laws for statements that are shockingly milquetoast.

kimixa 1y ago
> But on the other hand there genuinely have been many people arrested (and in some cases convicted) under these laws for statements that are shockingly milquetoast. Care to name some? The vast majority of cases I've looked into end up being a lot more than the initially presented "They Were Arrested For Saying Bad Words On The Internet!" story pushed on the internet. In fact, I can't remember a single one where there wasn't a lot more, but that's not really more than anecdote.
- oncallthrow 1y ago
  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-46959556?app-referrer=deep-linkm https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-46959556... is one example of a successful prosecution. There are many more cases of harassment by the police or arrests, the most recent example that comes to mind being Graham Linehan. These are clearly not as bad as prosecutions, but still create a chilling effect.
  - n4r9 1y ago
    Linehan was arrested for inciting violence. He encouraged people to punch trans women.
    - deleted 1y ago
      [deleted]
    - wastle 1y ago
      [flagged]
- jdietrich 1y ago
  A number of people have been arrested, charged and convicted for things that were very obviously jokes - tasteless jokes, offensive jokes, but still just jokes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter_joke_trial https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter_joke_trial https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Dankula https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Dankula https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/glasgow-bin-lorry-tragedy-sick-5049731 https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/glasgow-bin...
- vmilner 1y ago
  Here's one - happy to hear about the lots more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9dj1zlvxglo https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9dj1zlvxglo
n4r9 1y ago
I agree. There has been over-reach, especially between 2005 and 2016. The Robin Hood airport incident is a good example. But I'm not convinced we're sliding into authoritarianism. Or at least, if we are sliding into authoritarianism then it's more likely because of restrictions on protest (e.g. Serious Disruption Prevention Orders) rather than policing of social media.

kimixa 1y ago

> But on the other hand there genuinely have been many people arrested (and in some cases convicted) under these laws for statements that are shockingly milquetoast. Care to name some? The vast majority of cases I've looked into end up being a lot more than the initially presented "They Were Arrested For Saying Bad Words On The Internet!" story pushed on the internet. In fact, I can't remember a single one where there wasn't a lot more, but that's not really more than anecdote.

oncallthrow 1y ago
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-46959556?app-referrer=deep-linkm https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-46959556... is one example of a successful prosecution. There are many more cases of harassment by the police or arrests, the most recent example that comes to mind being Graham Linehan. These are clearly not as bad as prosecutions, but still create a chilling effect.
- n4r9 1y ago
  Linehan was arrested for inciting violence. He encouraged people to punch trans women.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
  - wastle 1y ago
    [flagged]
jdietrich 1y ago
A number of people have been arrested, charged and convicted for things that were very obviously jokes - tasteless jokes, offensive jokes, but still just jokes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter_joke_trial https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter_joke_trial https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Dankula https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Dankula https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/glasgow-bin-lorry-tragedy-sick-5049731 https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/glasgow-bin...
vmilner 1y ago
Here's one - happy to hear about the lots more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9dj1zlvxglo https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9dj1zlvxglo

n4r9 1y ago

I agree. There has been over-reach, especially between 2005 and 2016. The Robin Hood airport incident is a good example. But I'm not convinced we're sliding into authoritarianism. Or at least, if we are sliding into authoritarianism then it's more likely because of restrictions on protest (e.g. Serious Disruption Prevention Orders) rather than policing of social media.