UK police are using laws against “offensive” online speech to prosecute suspects.
Approximately 12,000 people in Britain are arrested each year for online posts considered threatening or offensive, according to custody data reported by The Times.
The data, released on Friday, indicates that police make around 12,000 annual arrests under Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 and Section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988. These laws target messages that cause distress by being “grossly offensive,” or by disseminating content that is “indecent, obscene or menacing” through electronic networks.
In 2023, police from 37 forces made 12,183 arrests, averaging about 33 per day. The Times points out that this is a 58% increase compared to the 7,734 arrests made in 2019.
However, government figures show that convictions and sentencings for these offenses have decreased by almost half. While some cases are resolved out of court, the primary reason for the drop is “evidential difficulties,” especially when victims choose not to pursue the case.
These statistics have drawn criticism, with civil liberties advocates accusing authorities of overzealous internet policing and suppression of free speech through the application of “vague” communications laws.
The Times highlighted the case of Maxie Allen and Rosalind Levine, who were arrested on January 29 after voicing concerns in a private parents’ WhatsApp group about their daughter’s school’s hiring practices. Six police officers arrived at their home, arrested them in front of their child, and transported them to a police station. They were questioned on suspicion of harassment, malicious communications, and causing a nuisance on school property after the school claimed they had “cast aspersions” on the chair of governors. They were fingerprinted, searched, and detained in a cell for eight hours.
Allen told the Daily Mail, “It was hard to shake off the sense that I was living in a police state,” adding that the messages, while “bit sarcastic,” contained “no offensive language or threat.”