By Darren McSweeney

Last updated at 17:17, Monday, 15 October 2012

I CAN’T quite believe it’s been two years since I wrote an article titled “Watch what you say” – the content was all around what people post on social media websites, what is acceptable and more importantly, what isn’t.

Darren McSweeney

We’d just seen the “Twitter Joke Trial”, where Paul Chambers was convicted of sending a menacing message online, albeit a joke.

In the last two years, the punishment that man received has been quashed in a higher court, but it appears we are not much clearer around what is acceptable in the online world. More worryingly, there seems to be a complete lack of understanding of what clearly isn’t acceptable – as recent events have shown.

The story of the disappearance of five-year-old April Jones began to hit our TV screens and newspapers two weeks ago today. The arrest of a man in connection with her disappearance the next day was carefully reported by the press – all of them aware of their legal obligations and responsibilities. Legal training for journalists and editors, and legal teams and advisers, are all important parts of the news machine and of ensuring what is printed is legal and unlikely to prejudice an investigation.

But this legal support framework is totally missing for Joe (or Jo-Anne) Public, posting their thoughts on this and other cases on Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. And that is where it goes horribly wrong.

I’ve seen Facebook groups created, I’ve seen Facebook posts, some from people I thought I knew well, all expressing an opinion on the man arrested and punishments they think he should receive. All despite the fact we live in a country where you are innocent until proven guilty. Now there’s no harm in having an opinion – this weekly column wouldn’t be here if opinions were suppressed – but what must be remembered, despite any lack of deep legal knowledge, is that all suspects have a right to a fair trial. Anyone posting messages, creating “hate” pages and the like, is playing into the hands of a suspect’s legal team. They may use it as evidence to support a claim their defendant would not be subject to a fair trial.

A senior judge recently stated the right to a fair trial by jury is one of our most precious civil liberties. Let’s keep it that way and let juries decide, not Facebook groups.

First published at 16:46, Monday, 15 October 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk