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| Social media users warned over court case comments | Social media users warned over court case comments |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| The attorney general is to publish guidance on Twitter to help prevent social media users from committing a contempt of court by commenting inappropriately on criminal cases. | The attorney general is to publish guidance on Twitter to help prevent social media users from committing a contempt of court by commenting inappropriately on criminal cases. |
| Dominic Grieve QC said it was designed to make sure fair trials took place. | Dominic Grieve QC said it was designed to make sure fair trials took place. |
| Comedian Alan Davies, Commons speaker's wife Sally Bercow and celebrity Peaches Geldof have all recently run into legal difficulties with careless tweets. | Comedian Alan Davies, Commons speaker's wife Sally Bercow and celebrity Peaches Geldof have all recently run into legal difficulties with careless tweets. |
| The advice will apply to court cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. | The advice will apply to court cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. |
| The rise of social media has meant that conversations about criminal cases, once had down the pub or over the garden fence, are now instantly published online - and can be shared with thousands, BBC legal correspondent Clive Coleman says. | |
| But Facebook and Twitter are publications subject to the same laws that in practice used to apply only to the mainstream media. | But Facebook and Twitter are publications subject to the same laws that in practice used to apply only to the mainstream media. |
| Anyone commenting about a case or defendant in a way that could prejudice a trial could be prosecuted for contempt and imprisoned. | Anyone commenting about a case or defendant in a way that could prejudice a trial could be prosecuted for contempt and imprisoned. |
| That is why the attorney general is going to start publishing advice - that previously only went to the media - to the public via his website and Twitter feed. | That is why the attorney general is going to start publishing advice - that previously only went to the media - to the public via his website and Twitter feed. |
| It is designed to help inform people about the legal pitfalls of commenting in a way that could be seen as prejudicial to a court case or those involved. | It is designed to help inform people about the legal pitfalls of commenting in a way that could be seen as prejudicial to a court case or those involved. |
| Mr Grieve said: "Blogs and social media sites like Twitter and Facebook mean that individuals can now reach thousands of people with a single tweet or post. | Mr Grieve said: "Blogs and social media sites like Twitter and Facebook mean that individuals can now reach thousands of people with a single tweet or post. |
| "This is an exciting prospect, but it can pose certain challenges to the criminal justice system. | "This is an exciting prospect, but it can pose certain challenges to the criminal justice system. |
| "In days gone by, it was only the mainstream media that had the opportunity to bring information relating to a court case to such a large group of people that it could put a court case at risk. | "In days gone by, it was only the mainstream media that had the opportunity to bring information relating to a court case to such a large group of people that it could put a court case at risk. |
| "That is no longer the case and is why I have decided to publish the advisories that I have previously only issued to the media." | "That is no longer the case and is why I have decided to publish the advisories that I have previously only issued to the media." |
| Mr Grieve said the move was not about telling people what they could say on social media but about helping to allow lawful comments. | Mr Grieve said the move was not about telling people what they could say on social media but about helping to allow lawful comments. |