On may 20 2013 I put the following question to David Ford MLA in his capacity as Justice Minister for Northern Ireland:
1. Has sectarianism grown new legs through the misuse and abuse of social media? Are there effectively new online interface areas?
2. What is the scale of the challenge posed by social media to the PSNI?
3. My figures obtained under FOI, relating to the number or social media incidents reported to the police, have shown exponential growth since 2010 - the number of prosecutions is also quote high. Therefore I ask, what guidelines are police using before:
i. Responding to reports of misuse and abuse
ii. Making an arrest following said report of misuse and abuse
4. What standard are the prosecution services in Northern Ireland using before deciding to prosecute and individual?
5. What has changed since the February 5 2013 plenary session on social media regulation?
6. Since February 5 2013 have you spoken with either Chris Grayling or Maria Miller?
7. Of the options before you do you lean towards either:
i. Tightening controls such as bringing in censorship measures?
ii. Bringing in new criminal controls as has been suggested by Pat Rabitte for ROI?
iii. Self-regulation and Educating people, especially young people in schools (as per here)?
8. Do you intend to bring forward to Northern Ireland specific guidance for arrests and prosecutions relating to social media - or do you intend to use guidance produced by Keir Starmer (now stepping down from CPS)?
I received a response from the Office of the Justice Minister on June 12 2013. None of my questions were actually answered. And I won't have anyone suggest that I didn't ask them as presented above; so below is a screen grab of the original email I sent with relevant addresses redacted.
