Tweeters who incited violence face arrest

Twitter users have been warned they face arrest for inciting violence in the wake of the riots.
By The Newsroom
Published 9th Aug 2011, 07:00 BST

A Scotland Yard chief said some messages posted on the social networking website about the looting had been “really inflammatory” and “inaccurate”.

When asked whether officers would consider arresting tweeters for incitement, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh said “absolutely”.

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“That investigation is already under way, and that is exactly the sort of thing we are looking at.”

Twitter enables users to impart information to a global audience within seconds, which means menacing or inaccurate details can spread very quickly.

It is believed some of the rioters also communicated with each other through messages sent on BlackBerry devices, which are untraceable by the authorities. The message system, BlackBerry Messenger, is popular among teens because it is free.