Hate speech, harassment and free speech: What you can't say online

The arrest of Father Ted's co-creator over social media posts has reignited arguments over what you should and shouldn't be allowed to say online.

Graham Linehan, who also created the Black Books and The IT Crowd comedies, said on Tuesday he was arrested at Heathrow Airport over posts on X sharing his views on trans rights.

In one of his posts, Linehan said: "If a trans-identified male is in a female-only space, he is committing a violent, abusive act. Make a scene, call the cops and if all else fails, punch him in the balls."

Now, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has told Sky News the government needs to look at whether police are "getting the balance right", and that the government would rather see "police on the streets rather than policing tweets".

X owner Elon Musk also questioned the priorities of the British police after Linehan's arrest and has previously called Britain a "tyrannical police state".

So what kind of posts could get you in trouble with the law?

The type of posts most hotly debated in the last year are around hate speech and extremism.

Posts that stir up racial or religious hatred, promote violence or are deemed hate-motivated harassment are all illegal.

Hate speech and harassment

Although they were already outlawed by bills like 1986's Public Order Act, the Online Safety Act of 2023 gave the authorities stronger guidelines and powers when dealing with hate speech online.

This hit the headlines last year when riots swept the UK in the wake of Axel Rudakubana's murder of three young girls in Southport.

Hundreds of people were arrested, with a number of those detained because of their social media posts. Childminder Lucy Connolly was one of them - she was released in August after nine months in prison.

She had pleaded guilty to publishing written material to stir up racial hatred after the Southport stabbings, posting on X:

"Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f****** hotels full of the bastards for all I care... if that makes me racist so be it."

Extremism and terrorism

There are also separate laws around extremism and terrorism.

You cannot share posts that support organisations like Hamas, Palestine Action, the far-right group National Action or other proscribed groups.

In June, 30-year-old Zakir Hussain was jailed for five years and eight months after posting on X in support of Hamas and Hezbollah in the wake of the 7 October attacks in Israel.

He also wrote numerous antisemitic comments, including praise for the actions of Adolf Hitler.

"This case demonstrates, yet again, that we will act when we receive information about social media content that is unlawful," said the head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command at the time.

Libel

Posts that harm a person's or organisation's reputation by making false statements can also get you into trouble - although libel is a civil offence, rather than a criminal one.

Last year, actor-turned-politician Laurence Fox was ordered to pay £180,000 in damages after he called former Stonewall trustee Simon Blake and drag artist Crystal "paedophiles" on social media.

Repeating libellous claims can get you in even more trouble and is classed as contempt of court, which also covers posts that risk prejudicing court proceedings.

This could involve commenting on anyone involved in a case from the point that someone is arrested, if it has the potential to influence a jury in a future or ongoing trial.

Those who commit contempt of court can be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.

Far-right political activist Tommy Robinson was jailed last year after admitting breaching a 2021 High Court order banning him from repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee who successfully sued him for libel. Mr Robinson was released in May.

Encouraging serious self-harm and suicide

A number of new rules were added to UK law through the Online Safety Act.

Some of them, like encouraging serious self-harm, have only recently started being tested in court. In July, 23-year-old Tyler Webb became the first person to be sentenced for the offence after he groomed a young woman into self-harm online.

Repeatedly harassing someone, sending messages with the intent to cause distress to the recipient or intentionally false messages designed to cause "non-trivial psychological or physical harm" is also banned under UK law.

Intimate image abuse

Rules around intimate image abuse were also strengthened by the act. Cyber-flashing, sending someone unsolicited intimate pictures, and revenge porn, sharing or threatening to share intimate pictures without consent, were outlawed.

Other serious sexual offences have been around for longer.

Depictions of extreme violence or sexual violence, as well as child sexual abuse material (CSAM), are all banned.

Sharing CSAM is illegal even if the material is AI-generated, for example, through a "nudifying" app or creating images that aren't photo-realistic.

Last November, 27-year-old Hugh Nelson was jailed for 18 years after using an AI picture generator to turn ordinary pictures of children into child abuse images and selling them online.

(c) Sky News 2025: Hate speech, harassment and free speech: What you can't say online