Comments on: Abuse and harassment on Twitter: when does it become a police matter?

By: Aoife

Aoife — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:45:48 +0000

The Tom Daley thing pissed me of. The boy who said those things ‘Rileyy_69′ has been tormenting this boy for ages before this happened. He said such awful things that I really don’t want to repeat but checkout for yourself. Now hes harassing Louis Walsh saying hes a child molester and stuff but what annoys me is why is Tom Daley so special? All he said to tom is that is dad wasn’t proud of him which is totally untrue and extremely hurtful but yet, he got away with sending death threats to people which he describes in full detail! He even sent threats to Dorest police via twitter! I think its a case of its free speech unless your famous imo

By: Michelle

Michelle — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 19:17:07 +0000

This is why I don’t have a Twitter account & frankly after reading all of the above comments im thankful my life is hectic enough that I don’t really have “headspace” available to have an opinion!!

By: Noreen

Noreen — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 19:59:14 +0000

The same laws apply on the internet as in real life. You are not allowed to harass someone in either place, but it’s going to be difficult to prove you made nasty comments verbally with no witnesses. The only difference with the internet is that people who type out all their bad behaviour for the world to see and leave the evidence online are easier to prosecute because they are particularly thick.

By: Shanna

Shanna — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 14:40:16 +0000

I tweeted a silly comment about the Greek Eurovision entry when it was on – it was along the lines of saying something like ‘the country sent the girl along with half a dress, damn recession’, no swearing, no threats – and I was subjected to a good 2 days of Greek people swearing at me, calling me names, saying they hope I die, fat cow, ignorant bitch, etc. It really, really upset me! I think I was, for a long time, a little ignorant about how social networking worked. If you have a public twitter account, be aware that whatever you type can go round the world within an instant. I will joke along and have a laugh but I DO watch that I don’t make nasty comments or bitchy comments anymore. I think that people who intentionally go out of their way to upset people should be punished ‘in the real world’ because we all tend to forget at times that the internet IS ‘the real world’. Look at any youtube video and look at the comments. Emotional abuse is as serious as Verbal abuse, and I think that people think it’s alright to sit at a desk and type the most disgusting, vile, inhuman comments ‘because it’s only the internet’. I think it’s rotten, and I think they should be punished.

My two cents anyway!

By: salsera

salsera — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 14:20:41 +0000

Freedom of speech is not absolute and does not include the right to shout ‘Fire’ in a crowded theatre.

It’s all very well saying ‘unfollow’ the person or don’t feed the trolls, but to get to that stage, you have to have already read their odious comments, and I doubt hideous puns on your song titles tied in with the death of your child will ever go away, once they’re in your head.

What I mean is, you can’t ‘unread’ things.

In what way is making horrible comments about the death of someone’s child not hate speech? Just cos there’s no racial element?

Surely he could be sued for causing extreme emotional distress? Bankrupt the fucker, that’s what I say.

By: IceQueen

IceQueen — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 09:05:22 +0000

Niamhygiggles, I totally agree with all you said above.

It’s completely human nature to be judgemental and critical, whether we se ourselves that way or not. Both of celebs we see in magazines and of people we know. But sitting having a glass of wine and a gossip with a friend is totally different than going out of your way to put nasty comments out there for everyone to see. If you wouldnt say it to their face, dont put it on FB/Twitter. Its there for everyone to read and you cannot always tell in writing if someone is being funny/sarcastic or downright mean.

I’m all for freedom of speech but I think the law needs to be involved if there are death threats etc out there. How would we feel if a death threat was ignored and the worst came about?
If a death threat was given in person, it would be investigated so why not online?

By: sarah

sarah — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 08:49:25 +0000

it’s shocking that it happens. but it has happened and pita eather a, going to get worse or b, going to better.

personally I think a, and with that there are going to be consequences. some who has power out there will decide that every word that is communicated on the internet will have to be monitored. The internet as we know it will come to an end and we will be there telling the next generation of all these social media sights that may or may not be around when it’s there time to enjoy the freedom or what ever is left of it.

people go over board and this gives governments the perfect excuse to take control of the internet and say what we can view and not and most importantly what we can comment on

By: CherrySue (Doin the Do)

CherrySue (Doin the Do) — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 20:47:18 +0000

I’m firmly in the ‘Don’t feed the Trolls’ camp. I’m always amazed at people giving out about people bitching and moaning on twitter – Ehm, don’t follow them then.

Your timeline is exactly that, your timeline, you choose what you see. if there’s someone infuriating or offending you with their arseholery (or perceived arseholery) unfollow & block. Simples.

I’m right there with BBB, can never fathom why people RT the trolls.

By: PinkPanther

PinkPanther — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 20:28:58 +0000

Absolutely agree, just ignore these idiots on twatter. Why does a comment from someone hiding behind a computer screen get such media attention?If a person said those things in real life, people would be offended but there wouldn’t be international outrage dominating the news!

By: Ljana

Ljana — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 18:26:57 +0000

I firmly believe that words should not get you in jail – unless they’re meant as a deliberate, substantiated death threat, blackmail or libel, which are anyway punishable by law. As someone who has a close family member in the public eye (not in Ireland or UK though), I’ve practically grown up hearing and reading various vile things about said member of family, including death threats on a very unsavory forum (Stormfront I think they were; the link was forwarded to me). Yes, it hurts. It’s scary, hurtful and maddening, all at once. But would I want those people in jail? God, no. (Well, apart from the Stormfront thugs, but for other reasons.)Freedom of speech includes saying unpleasant things about people and sparing their feelings is no concern of the authorities. The principle is simply too important to compromise in the name of sparing someone’s feelings. Besides, how do you draw the line? For example, why would saying something hurtful or insulting to/about a generally well-liked personality, like Daley or Barlow, be punishable, while saying something equally nasty about a politician or, say, a foreign dictator/war criminal, would not be? Or would it? Who decides who’s fair game and who’s not? It’s a very complex issue and a slippery slope.

Sorry for the rather long-winded post (incidentally, my first one on beaut.ie), it’s a subject I feel strongly about!