Advice has been added to the guidelines about the use of false online profiles and websites with false and damaging information.
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If, for example, a profile is created on Facebook under the name of a victim and includes fake information, this may now become a criminal act, especially if the act results in damage to reputation or humiliation.
The public body for prosecutions in the United Kingdom, the Crown Prosecution Service, has announced that it is publishing new guidelines on how criminal cases involving social media are handled through the justice system.
“Online abuse is cowardly and can be deeply upsetting to the victim”, Alison Saunders, the director of public prosecutions, told the BBC.
That’s because people can’t be trusted to be nice online and are increasingly using social platforms for things like revenge porn and harassment, particularly in cases of violence against women.
Social media giants Facebook and Twitter, which are believed to have tens of millions of fake accounts, also have provisions to report these “imposter accounts”.
However, parody, commentary, or fan accounts are allowed on the site.
KitGuru Says: As much as I can see where the CPS is going here, creating fake profiles is too easy and it sounds like something that could be quickly exploited to shut out voices that people don’t like the sound of, rather than helping stop legitimate harassment.
“We are seeing more and more cases where social media is being used as a method to facilitate both existing and new offences”.
“It is vital that prosecutors consider the bigger picture when looking at evidence and examine both the online and offline behaviour pattern of the defendant”, said Saunders. Additionally, CPS officials also said Thursday that Twitter had agreed to train prosecutors in England and Wales to better fight online abuse. Today’s new guidelines are encouraging.
Some applauded the updated guidelines…
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Revenge pornography refers to the practice of sharing sexually explicit images or videos of former partners without their consent.
