(LifeSiteNews) — A U.K. government official has announced that police will arrest people for sharing content that could incite “racial hatred,” regardless of their intent.
Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions in England and Wales, said in an interview with Sky News that “publishing or distributing material which is insulting or abusive which is intended to or likely to start racial hatred” online will be prosecuted.
“So, if you retweet that, then you’re republishing that and then potentially you’re committing that offense [incitement to racial hatred],” Parkinson stated.
‘We do have dedicated police officers who are scouring social media to look for this material, and then follow up with arrests.’
The director of public prosecutions of England and Wales warns that sharing online material of riots could be an offencehttps://t.co/PYaeP7gPAQ pic.twitter.com/kOGWDPrlyz
— Sky News (@SkyNews) August 7, 2024
“We do have dedicated police officers who are scouring social media,” he added. “Their job is to look for this material, and then follow up with identification, arrests, and so forth.”
“So it’s very, very serious. People might think they’re not doing anything harmful. They are. And the consequences will be visited upon them.”
England has witnessed violent protests and clashes between anti-immigration protestors, counter-protestors, and groups from certain minority communities ever since the murder of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed event in late July. The alleged murderer was an 17-year-old whose parents immigrated to the U.K. from Rwanda. As a child model, the suspect once took part in a children’s charity advertisement in which he portrayed one of contemporary England’s most iconic figures, Doctor Who.
READ: UK’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer moves toward digital tyranny in response to civil unrest
According to Fox News, Sky News journalist Matthew Thompson, who conducted the interview with Parkinson, clarified that British citizens could face criminal charges for reposting content that is deemed illegal regardless of their intent.
“People might be sharing [content] simply to warn their friends, but it could be considered an offense because they’re amplifying this,” Parkinson said, agreeing with Thompson’s statement.
“They are actually already bringing charges in relation to this sort of thing. So it’s a very, very clear message based in the harsh reality, if you like, that if you do this kind of thing, you are potentially committing a criminal offense,” Thompson said, reiterating Parkinson’s explanation.
“They’ve got teams of people scouring the Internet looking for this sort of thing. And if you are in the business of sharing or re-tweeting, whatever platform it might be, potentially criminal material, well, then you could find yourself prosecuted,” he added.
Arresting citizens for social media posts has been a frequent occurrence in Great Britain for several years. In 2018, a young woman was arrested and sentenced to community service and a fine for racism for posting the lyrics of a rap song that contained the n-word. In 2022, a Catholic journalist and mother was arrested for sending “offensive” tweets critical of gender ideology.