Looking to crack down on "venomous trolls," UK Justice Secretary Chris Grayling is pushing for increased jail time for those making anonymous online threats of physical harm against other people.
The move comes in the wake of a publicity storm surrounding model and fitness instructor Chloe Madeley. She was targeted with a series of rape threats via Twitter after her mother, TV celeb Judy Finnigan, defended popular footballer Ched Evans—who happens to be a convicted rapist. Madeley in turn defended her mother’s comments, and was swiftly targeted with anonymous and violent threats.
Interestingly, and some would say ironically, Finnigan had said that former Manchester City and Sheffield Utd. Player—who maintains his innocence—should be left alone after returning to the outside world this week. He has been released from prison after serving just half of his five-year sentence for raping a 19-year-old woman.
Finnegan ignited a firestorm when she said that he hadn’t caused "any bodily harm" because rape “is not violent.” She also said that the victim was drunk, intimating that she had brought the attack on herself.
Despite the muddied attitudes towards rape at play, the situation has prompted what Britons are calling “Chloe’s Law,” which would quadruple the existing six-month sentence for trolling to two years.
Grayling told the Mail that trolls are "cowards" who have "poisoned our national life," relying on anonymity to perfect a hit-and-run style that often has devastating psychological consequences for the target.
Madeley is not the first or last victim of trolling in the UK. Last year, Caroline Criado-Perez weathered a deluge of anti-feminist abuse and rape threats via Twitter after she successfully campaigned for women to be included on UK banknotes. A man was later arrested for the crime.
Regardless of what drew the abuse, no one deserves that kind of treatment, Grayling noted. “This is a law to combat cruelty – and marks our determination to take a stand against a baying cyber-mob,” he told the paper. “We must send out a clear message: if you troll, you risk being behind bars for two years.”
The bill also suggests two years of jail time for those posting revenge porn.