British Man's Appeal Changes Twitter Freedom of Speech Law

July 28, 2012 from Al Jazeera English

Freedom of speech campaigners in the UK are celebrating after a High Court ruling regarding the "Twitter Joke Trial". The court quashed the conviction of a British man, Paul Chambers, who tweeted he would blow an airport sky high if his flight was delayed. Now, Britons will no longer be subject to criminal prosecution for making potentially offensive but unthreatening remarks online. Al Jazeera's Laurence Lee reports from London.

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Trial of Paul Chambers

The case of R v Paul Chambers, better known as the Twitter Joke Trial, is a United Kingdom legal case centred on an incident in which Paul Chambers was convicted of using Twitter to send a "public electronic message that was grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or mena... Explore this topic

Twitter

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send "updates" (text-based posts, up to 140 characters long) via SMS, instant messaging, email, to the Twitter website, or an application such as Twitterrific. Twitter was founded in March 2006... Explore this topic

Joke

A joke is something spoken, written, or done with humorous intention. Jokes may have many different forms, e.g., a single word or a gesture, a question-answer, or a whole short story. The word "joke" has a number of synonyms, including wisecrack, gag, prank, quip, jape and jes... Explore this topic

Freedom of speech

Freedom of speech is the political right to communicate one's opinions and ideas. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used. In practice, the right... Explore this topic

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom and Britain, is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of... Explore this topic

London

London is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, and the largest city, urban zone and metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history g... Explore this topic

Prosecutor

The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial against an individu... Explore this topic

Trial

In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, which may occur before a judge, jury, or other designated tr... Explore this topic

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Trial of Paul Chambers

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