Legal warnings on UK court cases to be posted on Twitter
London (AFP) - The British government will from Wednesday issue guidance for Twitter and Facebook users about how they can avoid "inadvertently breaking the law" by revealing banned information from court cases.
Legal advisories previously sent only to the mainstream media will be published on social media networks in recognition that newspapers and television no longer have a monopoly on news.
There are strict rules in place in Britain on what can be reported or publicly discussed about a court case, with heavy fines levied on those deemed to have prejudiced a fair trial, while it is also illegal to identify the victims of some crimes.
But these rules are increasingly being broken by users of social networks, often through ignorance.
Last week socialite Peaches Geldof tweeted the names of two mothers whose babies were involved in sexual abuse orchestrated by disgraced rock star Ian Watkins, the lead singer of the Lost Prophets.
Geldof, the daughter of Live Aid founder and Boomtown Rats singer Bob Geldof, apologised and swiftly deleted the tweets, which risked breaking the law protecting the identity of victims in sexual offences cases.
Police are considering whether to press charges -- although in her defence, it emerged afterwards that the mothers' names were accidentally included on a courts listing website.
"Blogs and social media sites like Twitter and Facebook mean that individuals can now reach thousands of people with a single tweet or post," said Attorney General Dominic Grieve, the government's chief legal advisor.
"This is an exciting prospect, but it can pose certain challenges to the criminal justice system.
"In days gone by, it was only the mainstream media that had the opportunity to bring information relating to a court case to such a large group of people that it could put a court case at risk.
"That is no longer the case, and is why I have decided to publish the advisories that I have previously only issued to the media."
Grieve said he hoped to "stop people from inadvertently breaking the law".
"This is not about telling people what they can or cannot talk about on social media; quite the opposite in fact, it's designed to help facilitate commentary in a lawful way."
Stupid online comments still OK
The attorney general issues only a handful of advisories each year but they will now be available on his website and via his official Twitter feed, alongside other advice about court reporting restrictions.
Grieve issued his first contempt proceedings over the use of social media earlier this year, against a man who tweeted an image purporting to be a notorious child killer in violation of a court-imposed anonymity order.
James Baines, 27, was handed a 14-month suspended sentence last week after admitting contempt of court for tweeting the image of a man he said was Jon Venables.
Venables was only ten years old when he and his friend Robert Thompson tortured and murdered two-year-old James Bulger in Liverpool in 1993. Both killers were given new identities when they were released from jail, for their own protection.
Prosecutors have sought to reassure users, however, that they will still be able to post stupid comments online without fear of the police knocking at the door.
In December 2012, the Crown Prosecution Service published new guidelines intended to draw a line between genuine threats and misjudged jokes, after concerns about freedom of speech.
They make it less likely that Twitter or Facebook users will be charged, particularly if their comments are intended only for a small audience or are swiftly removed.
