The Scotsman cartoon: Abuse over independence
In the wake of the highly abusive cyberstorm unleashed on author JK Rowling for making public her intention to vote No in the independence referendum and her £1 million donation to the Better Together campaign, it could be argued that there is a need for an anti-abuse law on social media.
Given the fervent vitriol on Twitter directed towards the Scotland-based writer, it would hardly be surprising if an anti-abuse motion received exactly the same response from Tweeters on both sides of the independence debate. It could be argued that such a motion would remove an individual’s right to free speech but surely there should be a guard against comments that are simply foul-mouthed and contribute absolutely nothing to the independence debate?