(Image Source: Los Angeles Times)

 

 

 

BY DANNY MATTESON

 

 

You're watching multisource world news analysis from Newsy.

 

 

 

Getting booked for using Facebook? That’s what happened to two men from the UK. EuroNews has the story.

 

 

 

“Two Facebook users in their early twenties have been jailed for four years for inciting riots. Jordan Blackshaw and Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan set up pages on the social networking site encouraging people to join in with the violence that spread across England more than one week ago.” 

 

 

 

So what’s the big deal? Well, the riots they were charged with “inciting” never actually happened. ZDNet explains.

 

 

 

“...the men had no previous convictions, did not participate in any violence themselves, and the riots they tried to incite never actually broke out.”

 

 

 

In fact, the only people to show up to either riot was the police -- but UK Prime Minister David Cameron thinks the punishment still fits the crime. He told reporters he wants to send a “very clear message” that rioting “won’t be tolerated.”

 

 

 

 

And one of the judges in the cases seems to share his sentiment. According to TechEye...

 

 

 

“Blackshaw was told by Judge Edwards, QC, that he had committed an ‘evil act’ at a time when collective insanity gripped the nation. His conduct was quite disgraceful and the title of the message he posted on Facebook chilled the blood.”

 

 

 

But his message, entitled “Smash Down in Northwich Town”, isn’t chilling everyone’s blood. Commentators at CNN think officials may be going a bit overboard. 

 

 

 

“There is talk of proportionality, especially, for example, with the case of these two charged with the Facebook, inciting a riot. People are saying, you know, what they did, wasn’t that bright, it was pretty stupid, but do they deserve four years in prison for it?”

 

 

 

And sources tell SkyNews -- this social media suppression may have political provocation. 

 

 

 

“We have a criminal justice process where individuals are sentenced on an individual basis. Here it seems the rule book has been thrown away and that magistrates are potentially sentencing people influenced by political rhetoric and that is wrong, and that’s bad for the rule of law and that’s bad for the criminal justice system.”

 

 

 

Finally, commentators at RT think handing out harsh sentences may pose a threat -- to freedom of speech.

 

 

 

“It’s dangerous because we are now seeing a knee-jerk reaction to people using social network sites to say they want to have a riot even if they haven’t followed that up with organizing the riot itself. Which is already, I think, dangerously abating the distinction between action and speech.”  

 

 

Follow @Newsy_Videos on Twitter.

 

 

Get more multisource video news analysis from Newsy.

 

 

Transcript by Newsy.