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New laws could be introduced to impose criminal penalties against those who post “revenge pornography” of former partners online as well as those who post offensive, threatening or malicious material on websites or social media.
A survey has found that 46% of Islanders are concerned about “inappropriate, malicious or offensive content online”, and now ministers say that the want to review the laws to make sure that vulnerable people – and especially children – are protected.
Their review aims to make sure that people can be held accountable for abuse of people online in the same way that they are for every other part of life.
Assistant Chief Minister Philip Ozouf said that he thought the current laws were adequate to do the job, but that the consultation was about seeing if there were better ways to cover online abuse and bullying.
He said: “We want to make sure that there is a level playing field, where activities conducted online are held accountable to the same standards as those conducted offline, whilst always being mindful of the need to preserve freedom of speech.
“It is the purpose of this consultation to make sure all types of harmful behaviour are covered by the law, to ensure that it is fit for purpose, and to explore whether there are more effective ways of tackling this behaviour. For example, it will seek to gauge opinion on whether there is a need to enact any new offences such as the posting online of revenge pornography.”
You can take part in the online consultation here.
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