Malicious Communications Act 1988
Template:Short description Template:Use British English
Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox UK legislation
The Malicious Communications Act 1988 (MCA) is a British Act of Parliament that makes it illegal in England and Wales to "send or deliver letters or other articles for the purpose of causing distress or anxiety". It also applies to electronic communications.
Scope of application
The original purpose of the MCA was to prevent the sending of printed matter, but the scope of the act has been extended to cover electronic communications. The MCA can be used to charge people for comments made via social networking sites that are “racially motivated” or "religiously motivated."<ref>Awan, I. (2014). Islamophobia and Twitter: A Typology of Online Hate Against Muslims on Social Media. Policy & Internet, 6(2), 133-150.</ref>
Criticisms
The MCA has been criticised for its aim as a means to censor free speech, a core civil liberty. In 2012 someone was falsely arrested under the Act for saying that Olympic diver Tom Daley let his late father down by not winning a medal at the London Olympics.<ref>Gillespie, A. A. (2012). Twitter, Jokes and the Law. The Journal of Criminal Law, 76(5), 364-369.</ref>
Highlighted cases
The MCA was used in 2011 against Internet troll Sean Duffy, who posted comments mocking the deaths of multiple teenagers. Duffy was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison and prohibited from registering on any social media site for five years.<ref name="Duffy">Template:Cite news</ref> In the case of DPP v Connolly, the MCA was used to prosecute an anti-abortion campaigner who sent obscene images of foetuses to pharmacists who sold the contraceptive pill.<ref>Keane, M., & Long, J. (2011). Health and homelessness: the Simon snapshot study. Drugnet Ireland, 9-10.</ref><ref>Heffernan, L. (2011). Police accountability and the Irish law of evidence. Crime, law and social change, 55(2-3), 185-197.</ref>