I do think that the court prosecutions in the UK against Twitter and Facebook users have gone too far and that this is a worrying trend. Overall, the UK has go

I do think that the court prosecutions in the UK against Twitter and Facebook users have gone too far and that this is a worrying trend. Overall, the UK has good freedom of speech (not perfect, but then which country has?). As others have pointed out, you can criticise politicians and the government in the UK without of fear of criminal penalties (unless your language is threatening or racist). I think in the UK, we tend to show a little less deference towards politicians and high-ranking officials than in the US. And that means people are not afraid to be critical face-to-face with politicians (without fear of reprisals). For example, here's Nick Clegg (the deputy Prime Minister) facing a bunch of angry students who don't mince their words http://youtu.be/88fQ2RIoqQA?t=1m44s http://youtu.be/88fQ2RIoqQA?t=1m44s