A new bill passed by legislators in Grenada can severely punish an Internet user who posts anything offensive on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Simple conversations turning into a verbal war and expressing anger or dislike toward anything on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter is a common occurrence. But if you live in the tiny Caribbean nation of Grenada, you will need to think twice before using social media sites as a source to vent out frustration as it may offend someone. Posting offensive comments can land you in serious trouble, maybe even jail. A new bill passed by the Grenada legislators makes it a crime to offend people through online social networking sites, Associated Press reports.
The bill, which was approved late Friday, also levies fines on various other online activities such as electronic stalking and identity theft.
"We have problems when some use the technology to engage in mischief," Legal Affairs Minister Elvin Nimrod told AP. "We have to put structures in place to ensure that persons and, in some cases, companies and characters are not tarnished."
The island of Grenada will no longer tolerate online offenders through its latest approved bill, which is a part of an electronic crimes bill. The process of filing a complaint against an online offender is same as for other crimes. Complaints can be filed with the police and then a judge will decide if the message, comment, post or a tweet is offensive and take further action. A plaintiff can produce the offensive post as evidence to support the plea in the court.
According to the bill, guilty offenders can be fined up to $37,000 or imprisoned for maximum three years. Distributing child pornography, a serious crime, can fetch a fine of up to $111,000 and a maximum imprisonment of 20 years, AP reports.
