UK: Sharing 'Hate Posts' Online Could Lead to Six Months In Jail Under Newly Proposed Rules

Social media users who share or comment on racist or anti-gay postings will face jail under rules proposed yesterday.

Advice for judges and magistrates recommends harsh punishments for those found guilty of stirring up hatred against racial, religious or sexual minority groups.

Among those jailed should be people who post comments or share online hate speech because they have been reckless as to whether they stir up hatred, say the proposals from the Sentencing Council.

Those found guilty of hate trolling by commenting or sharing social media should typically receive a sentence of six months in jail.

Anyone who is convicted of orginating hate speech that threatens anyone’s life or which is widely distributed should expect three years.

Even someone whose words or material were judged as hateful, but were not considered to have threatened life or reached a big audience, is likely to be punished with a year in jail.

[...]The council’s proposals say the most serious hate offences include speeches given by public figures with the aim of stirring up hatred, online content inciting violence towards racial or religious groups, and websites that publish abusive and insulting material to a worldwide audience over a long period.

Aggravating factors include activity ‘in a particularly sensitive social climate’ or delivered to an impressionable audience.

Using multiple social media platforms also makes an offence more grave.