The Government is absolutely clear that abusive or threatening behaviour, or harassment, online or offline, is totally unacceptable. A number of offences may be committed by such behaviour, in particular under section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988 or section 127 of the Communications Act 2003. Changes to the law being taken forward in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill will help to ensure that people who commit those offences are prosecuted and properly punished. Online harassment could also amount to an offence under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 if it is carried out as part of a \u2018course of conduct\u2019 which amounts to harassment or puts someone in fear of violence. Where any crime is motivated by or demonstrates hatred based on certain characteristics (such as sexual orientation) of the victim, the courts must take this into account in passing sentence.<\/p>
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The Government expects social media companies to have robust processes in place to respond promptly when abuse is reported; including acting quickly to assess the report, removing content which does not comply with the acceptable use policies or terms and conditions in place and, where appropriate, suspending or terminating the accounts of those breaching the rules in place.<\/p>
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Where a convicted offender receives a community order or a suspended sentence order the court may impose requirements, including a prohibited activity requirement, which could be used to restrict use of the internet or social media.<\/p>
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Where a convicted offender receives an immediate custodial sentence and is released on licence a condition could be imposed to limit the offender\u2019s access and use of the internet. Licence conditions are set by the prison governor or Parole Board.<\/p>
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We have no plans for further legislation to inhibit convicted offenders from accessing social media.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1496", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Shailesh Vara"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "North West Cambridgeshire"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mr Shailesh Vara"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-12-05", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-12-05T14:58:06.27Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "54"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2014-11-28", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Harassment: Social Media"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to prevent people who have been convicted for online harassment or hate crime accessing any other social media internet platforms.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4006", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Hendon"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Dr Matthew Offord"} ], "uin" : "216377"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/166795", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Justice"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/166795/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
A bank may permit an executor to withdraw money from the deceased\u2019s bank account before probate is granted. However, the bank in question will be liable to the deceased\u2019s estate if it releases funds to the wrong person. The bank may therefore insist on production of proof of the executor\u2019s right to administer the deceased\u2019s estate, namely the grant of probate, before releasing the money.<\/p>
<\/p>
The Government considers that this strikes a fair balance between the parties and has no plans to change the law at present.<\/p>
<\/p>
Information about the role of executors and the significance of the grant of probate is available from various sources including https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/overview<\/a> and http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/ihtmanual/ihtm05101.htm<\/a>.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1496", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Shailesh Vara"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "North West Cambridgeshire"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mr Shailesh Vara"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-12-05", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-12-05T14:52:34.423Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "54"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2014-11-28", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Administration of Estates"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to enable the executors of an estate to access the funds held in an executor's bank account prior to obtaining grant of probate to allow them to better manage that estate.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4006", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Hendon"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Dr Matthew Offord"} ], "uin" : "216376"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 2, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }