Men Sentenced for Online Venables Pics
A few months ago we posted on the dangers of circulating photos purporting to show Bulger killers Venables and Thompson.
The UK courts ordered a worldwide blanket injunction prohibiting anyone publishing photos that claimed to show either of the Bulger killers or face themselves in contempt of court.
Despite the injunction multiple photos of both [now] adults appeared on social media sites including Facebook and Twitter and was imprudently spread by people willing to pass on unverified and extremely damaging content to their friends.
Not only does passing on unverified and potentially inaccurate information represent an extremely irresponsible trend occurring in our increasingly social-media-orientated world but in this particular case those UK social media users who circulated the photos of Venables and Thompson would also find themselves violating an injunction.
Whilst many expressed incredulity that anyone would ever be held accountable for the images being published, two men –Dean Liddle and Neil Harkins – from Sunderland, were prosecuted and given suspended sentences for posting the photos onto their social media accounts.
Despite getting away with suspended sentences, it highlights the fact that just because you’re posting or circulating content from behind your keyboard in the apparent safety of cyberspace, it doesn’t mean your actions will have no real-world consequences.
Theoretically anyone in the UK who circulated the photos on their Twitter or Facebook accounts or elsewhere on the Internet could have found themselves in the same situation as Liddle and Harkins.
And the UK courts warned that despite suspended sentences being incurred in this instance, future infractions would undoubtedly be met with an immediate custodial sentence.
And echoing the sentiment of our recent article about the dangerous trend of “trial by social media” the judge handing out the sentence, Sir John Thomas, added –
“Vigilantism has no place in a civilised country and it is for the purpose of deterring such conduct that we must have particular regard. The social media can reach many … and therefore the conduct of anyone publishing such information, whether it be on social media or elsewhere on the internet, has that very serious consequence.”
So take note, and once again think twice before sharing unverified content to your friends on Facebook.
Further Reading –
BBC News – ‘Bulger killers’ images’: Two receive suspended sentences
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