Threats Foiled
Stamping out Promoting Violence Against an individual
Threats made online to an Internet user were foiled by the Hotline. The service received a report from a member of the public complaining about bullying and threats of violence made on the reporter’s social networking profile, a site based outside of Ireland. The reporter told a Hotline.ie Content Analyst that a complaint had been made to the social networking service many days before but no response was received and the threats were continuing.
The Analyst viewed the reporter’s profile and some of the content was assessed as “Promoting violence against an individual” to a degree which is probably illegal under Irish law. Screenshots of the offensive comments and the false profiles from where the offensive comments were posted were taken as part of the tracing procedures. Hotline.ie then made contact with the social networking service which promptly froze the offending accounts and associated logs. The profiles of those responsible for the abuse were subsequently deleted.
While the Hotline can be successful in having the material removed from the Internet, no further legal action can be taken by the Hotline.ie itself. Such circumstances require the reporter to bring their allegation directly to An Garda Síochána as criminal investigations if pursued would involve international police cooperation.
A blow to racism
The Hotline took effective action when a nasty online manifestation of racism and hatred was brought to its attention. The Hotline.ie service received a report from a member of the public complaining about racism and xenophobia directed against a particular community. The reporter said that a group of people on a popular social networking site had published their "intent to destroy" that community and its members.
The Content Analyst who was dealing with the report assessed the content to be "Racism and Xenophobia", an incitement to hatred, which is illegal under the Irish law. The Hotline made contact with the social networking service which reacted by freezing the offending account.
The location of the content and the relevant technical information were forwarded by Hotline.ie to the Gardaí who have the sole authority in the State to conduct criminal investigations of the perpetrators behind any illegal content.
Once the Hotline has passed its content assessment and the technical information it has gathered on the Internet to law enforcement, the Hotline's role is completed.
