Online Trolls Can Now Receive up to 2 Years in Jail

The UK government is ramping up efforts to tackle online abuse. Internet trolls are nothing new, but with more people spending more time online than ever before, online abuse and trolling is being taken more seriously than ever before.

There have been several high-profile cases in recent months, such as abuse towards the daughter of Robin Williams on Twitter after her fathers death, Judy Finnegan and her family receiving threats and more. In fact, it seems any major tragic event spawns some form of hatred and it’s not long before the abuse starts to flood in one direction or another.

Freedom of speech may be one thing, but the right to say almost anything you want doesn’t make you unaccountable for your actions. An amendment will be made to the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill that quadruples that maximum prison sentence for online trolling and abuse from 6 months to two years.

Mocking someone for owning an iPhone, joking around with your friends on Facebook or trying to reason with people in the YouTube comment section are still safe enough. Just remember to use some common sense before you take a joke too far.

Thank you TheNextWeb for providing us with this information.