New laws mean social media "trolls" could spend up to two years in prison - is this fair?

One side of a debate - YES

As social media’s popularity has continued to rise, as have the cases of internet ‘trolling’ - and it’s increasingly clear that the current laws regulating online threats are outdated. In my opinion, any threats made online need to be taken far more seriously than they are now.

The current laws mean that the maximum sentence that can be given to internet trolls is six months. In the case of Frank Zimmerman, who sent threats to MP Louise Mensch saying that “one of her children would be killed, the sentence given was suspended – meaning it was unlikely he would actually go to prison at all. However, the maximum sentence that can be given for the crime of sending threats in real life – harassment – is five years. It seems irrelevant to me whether the threats are received online or through your letterbox – the psychological effects and terror caused are the same, and therefore the sentence for online trolling should be upped to reflect that.

Some argue that if there is too much policing online it will have a negative effect on freedom of speech. I think it is necessary to make a clear distinction between an opinion and a threat – whilst the comments may not always be nice, everyone has the right to tweet their thoughts on people’s weight, appearance or actions. This cannot be criminalized.  However, a direct threat is a crime and should be taken seriously. An account named @killcreasynow sent numerous death threats to MP Stella Creasy, threatening to rape her and “put the video all over”; more recently, TV presenter Chloe Madeley has received rape threats over her mother Judy Finnigan’s comments on Ched Evans.

There is a clear distinction between an opinion and a threat – just criminalizing online threats will not affect freedom of speech.

Lastly, in response to those that say two years seems “harsh” – I would argue that since internet trolling is on the rise the current sentence just isn’t harsh enough. Increasing the maximum sentence to two years may be what is needed for sufficient deterrence, and encourage trolls to think twice before acting. Furthermore – the judge in the case is still left with discretion. The sentence is ‘maximum’ two years – it could still be six months, depending on the severity of the case. I believe that, in cases of serious online harassment, it is much better to have the option to come down hard on internet trolls – and show that in our society threats of death and rape will not be tolerated.