Twitter Jokes: Free Speech On Trial

An anonymous reader writes "On 6 January 2010, Paul Chambers typed a flippant tweet that would turn his life upside-down for the next two and a half years. As the courts repeatedly showed a lack of common sense and an ignorance of technology, for a long time it looked as though the right to free speech in the UK was under very real threat. Now that it's over, we can step back and take a detailed look at how such an insane case even came to trial. This article delves deep into the the Twitter Joke Trial: how it happened, what it means, and the epic struggle to balance civility and civil liberties."

Re:The comment in question.

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't see the issue. Then again, I don't even know how to pronounce a word like "Youâ(TM)ve". Is that like "ewe-eh-TMM-vvv" or "ewe-ah-TMM-vvv"?

Also "Iâ(TM)m". Is that "eye-eh-TMM-mmm" or "eye-ah-TMM-mmm"?

Re:Fire in a movie theater.

[MrDoh!]

It was obvious he shouldn't have limited his opinion to just the airport, but the whole of Doncaster.