This issue will only be know to UK types, but relevant for all.
In May of this year, Paul Chambers tweeted the following
"Crap! Robin Hood Airport is closed. You've got a week... otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!"
Tasteful? No. Criminal? Debatable.
Unfortunately for Paul, Doncaster's Robin Hood Airport did not find this so funny and he was subsequently prosecuted under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 for sending a 'menacing' tweet. Unsurprisingly, Twitterers weren't happy with this perceived slight on their free speech and Paul (and later his lawyer David Allen Green) saw an uplift in both support and followers.
Paul has appealed against his conviction and fine and yesterday (Nov 11th) he had his day in court. I had mixed feelings about this. It was certainly a stupid act from Paul, especially in the current climate, but did it really merit a court case? Really?
Paul lost his appeal, which as well as seriously upsetting his life sets a rather dangerous precedent for the future.
Look at your backlog of tweets. Do any of them appear 'indecent, menacing or obscene'? Ever vented with possibly unnecessary rage over a brand or service? Everyone has the right to question comments they feel to be ignorant, hateful or dangerous. But surely, everyone(at least individuals) has the right to say those comments too?
Twitter, always the home for digital grassroots activism, didn't take the verdict lying down. Users began to reproduce Paul's tweet, with the hashtag #iamspartacus.
At the beginning of writing this post, I clicked on the hashtag. Give or take a few minutes checking out
how to become a fast food wonder on Asylum I've probably spent 20 minutes writing this.
This is the current state of the hashtag, and it's still going.
Twitter can indeed be a force for the good.
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