UK: Number of arrests for 'offensive' social media posts soars as police target internet

The number of people being arrested over laws to stop 'offensive' social media posts is soaring, new figures show.

Statistics released by the Metropolitan Police show more than 850 people in London were detained under the controversial Communications Act last year.

The number of arrests has jumped by more than a third in the past five years, during which time police in the capital have questioned people over more than 3,500 allegations.

The figures, published by The Register, mean that during 2015, more than two people were arrested in London every day for allegedly posting messages which fall foul of the rules.

The law allows people to be prosecuted for sending 'offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing' messages on 'public communication networks' such as Facebook or Twitter.

The laws have been used to tackle online harassment, stalking and repeated 'trolling', but critics fear overzealous use of the rules could clamp down on free speech.

The act came under scrutiny in 2012 when Paul Chambers successfully challenged a conviction he got for tweeting that he would blow up Robin Hood Airport when it closed after heavy snow.

After his prosecution - for what he insisted was no more than a 'silly joke' - guidance was given by the Director of Public Prosecutions raising the threshold for prosecutions.

But figures released last year showed that, around the country, more than 1,200 were prosecuted in 2014 for offences under the act.

Last month, Markus Meechan from North Lanarkshire was arrested under the Communications Act for uploaded footage of his girlfriend's dog doing a Nazi salute and jumping when it heard words 'gas the Jews'. He insisted he is not racist and taught the dog the trick to 'annoy my girlfriend and give my friends something to laugh at'.

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