Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Twitter 'Joke' Leads to Arrest

Do not make jokes about blowing up airports; they are not funny. It is a bad idea, even if you think it is a harmless joke you can tweet to your Twitter followers. Paul Chambers found that out the hard way when police knocked on his door with a printout of his tweet and arrested him; believed to be the first person in England arrested for a tweet.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1244091/Man-arrested-Twitter-joke-bombing-airport-Terrorism-Act.html

"Paul Chambers, 26, tapped out the comment to amuse friends because his planned trip to Ireland was under threat due to heavy snow at Robin Hood Airport in Doncaster.

‘C**p! Robin Hood Airport is closed,’ he tweeted. ‘You’ve got a week and a bit to get your s*** together, otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!!’.
...
a week later, police arrived at the finance superviser’s office to arrest him under the Terrorism Act – after an apparent anonymous tip-off.
...
They said I was being arrested under the Terrorism Act and produced a piece of paper. It was a print-out of my Twitter page.
...
Mr Chambers is thought to be the first person in this country to have been arrested for comments on Twitter, although cases have been reported in the United States.
"

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