New guidelines have been issued to 'raise the bar' on the online comments that distinguish between offensive and criminal.
"Under the new guidelines, most if not all of a recent
rash of high-profile cases would probably not have been prosecuted,
including a youth who was sent to jail for 12 weeks for posting crude
jokes about two kidnapped girls and another young man who was sentenced
to 240 hours of community service for declaring on Facebook that British
soldiers “should die and go to hell.”
"Critics of the prosecutions noted that such comments
might raise eyebrows and draw disapproving looks if spoken aloud in a
pub, but online they suddenly become criminal offenses. Civil-liberties
activists warned of a chilling effect on free speech. Starmer agreed, and consulted lawyers, police and other experts on setting a higher threshold for prosecution."