Legal opinion: When Twitter users fall foul of the law
Rarely does a week go by without Twitter being at the centre of a media furore over posts purportedly breaking the law and landing users in hot water. Last year, Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs’ name was all over the social media network, despite a legal ruling granting him anonymity in a case alleging he had an affair with former Big Brother contestant Imogen Thomas. More recently, a new low was reached when the woman raped by Sheffield United footballer Ched Evans was named on Twitter, despite the anonymity of rape victims being protected by statute.
And these are only the most high-profile cases. Libellous tweets are commonplace now, as are postings that infringe copyright or, like the cases above, ignore the rule of English law altogether. The “Twitter Joke Trial”, which saw Paul Chambers prosecuted after he expressed frustration with delays at Robin Hood Airport with a threat that even the airport regarded as “not credible”, has also fuelled anxiety among Twitter users.
