The House of Lords Communications Committee has found that criminal offences committed using social media can be adequately prosecuted using legislation currently in existence, including the Communications Act 2003 and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.
Similarly, sending a grossly offensive communication that has the purpose of causing distress or anxiety is an offence under Section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988.
In the report published at the end of last month, the Peers said that no new legislation was needed but called for more clarity from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) as to when an indecent communication could and should be subject to prosecution under existing powers.
The Committee also encouraged website operators such as Facebook and Twitter to speed up requests for identification of users from UK law enforcement agencies using powers already granted by Parliament.
In addition, the Peers called for better statistics on the balance of offences committed online and by traditional means, as well as the number of offences that are actually reported.
As the Committee’s Chair, Lord Best, said, cyber bullying, revenge porn, trolling and virtual mobbing may be new phrases in our vocabulary but they generally describe behaviour that is already criminal.
Therefore, although anonymity has a valuable place when using social media, its negative effects when used as a shield for offenders to hide behind should be addressed.
He added that any legislation needs to balance the rights of the individual for freedom of expression with implementing the criminal law, whether the offences are committed online or offline.