Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Britain to treat internet hate crime as seriously as offline offences

Published 08/21/2017, 01:03 PM
Updated 08/21/2017, 01:03 PM
© Reuters. A man types into a keyboard during the Def Con hacker convention in Las Vegas

© Reuters. A man types into a keyboard during the Def Con hacker convention in Las Vegas

LONDON (Reuters) - Online abuse will be treated as seriously as offline offences, Britain's prosecution service said on Monday in new guidance on handling hate crimes.

The rules - which included guidelines on helping disabled and bisexual victims - were meant to encourage more people to come forward and press courts to impose longer sentences, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

"This is a crime that's under-reported. Sometimes people feel that they just have to put up with it ... That's absolutely not the case," Alison Saunders, the director of public prosecutions, told the BBC.

© Reuters. A man types into a keyboard during the Def Con hacker convention in Las Vegas

The new advice was in response to the growth of social media, the CPS said. There have been several high-profile instances of successful prosecutions of people who had abused lawmakers and other public figures online.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.