Just “retweeting” allegedly “hateful” material could get you arrested – even if you weren’t the person who originally posted it, according to England and Wales’ Director of Public Prosecutions.
Stephen Parkinson was speaking during a Sky News interview this week about a series of riots in the UK, which began after three young girls at a dance class in the north English town of Southport were fatally stabbed, with several more wounded.
Though the suspect in that incident is Welsh by birth and of an ethnic minority background, the incident caused mass outrage, leading to anti-immigration rioting. This was also paired with reports that groups of Muslim vigilantes have been roaming the streets with weapons also engaging in violence.
Speaking about the online commentary around the riots, Parkinson warned the British public that simply sharing a “hate” post on social media could be enough to get a person arrested, even if they didn’t publish the original post themselves.
“The offence of Incitement To Racial Hatred involves publishing or distributing material which is insulting or abusive, which is intended to or likely to start racial hatred,” he said.
“So if you retweet that, then you’re republishing that, and then potentially you’re committing that offence.”
The prosecutor added that there were British law enforcement officials monitoring social media closely for such material.
“We do have dedicated police officers who are scouring social media,” he said.
“Their job is to look for this material and then follow up with identification, arrest, and so forth. So it’s a really, really serious issue.”
He added: “People might think they’re not doing anything harmful, but they are, and the consequences will be visited upon them.”
In addition to this, in a BBC interview this week, Parkinson warned that people making such posts from abroad could be extradited to the UK.
“Some people are abroad,” he said.
“That doesn’t mean they’re safe. We have liaison prosecutors around the globe, who’ve got local links with the local judiciary. We can cooperate with our international partners.
“We would certainly consider extradition if we are satisfied that an offence has been committed. And if it takes weeks or not months, we will bring them home and they will face justice.”
As of this week, approximately 100 of the 400 people arrested in relation to the week-long riot have been charged with an offence. Parkinson added that in some cases the authorities were considering charging some individuals with terrorism offences.