Twitter Trolls Will Get Off Easy -- If Drunk

A number of individuals have faced charges in different parts of the world for posting offensive tweets on the social networking site #Twitter. New UK Crown Prosecution Service guidelines, however, intend to be more lenient by prosecuting only those whose posts are described as "going overboard." Some of the inclusions in offensive tweets are those that send violent threats to others online, breach of orders of the court and retweeting malicious posts. Specifically, individuals who were drunk when they posted the offensive remarks and then immediately apologized and removed these after getting sober will be in the clear. The new guidelines are to be executed primarily by Kier Starmer, Director of Public Prosecutions in the United Kingdom. The new rules are intended to create a balance between the freedom of speech as well as maintaining the security of others online. According to Starmer, the interim guidelines will keep online users safe from harassment and threats as well as properly categorize posts that are merely trivial or made in light of humor. The adjustments were made after a Twitter troll harassed Tom Daley, an Olympic diver whose father recently died. The person was later on arrested after his insensitive remarks online. A student was also imprisoned after posting racial comments in his drunken state.