Internet troll convictions on the rise

Criminal convictions for internet ‘trolls’ have risen almost eight fold in the last decade, with police increasingly using lesser known legislation to prosecute perpetuators of malice on the internet.

According to figures released by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), there were 1,209 cases of internet trolls found guilty under Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 last year, compared with just 143 in 2004.

Section 27, relatively unused until recently, has been deployed to prosecute people sending “grossly offensive” messages “of an indecent, obscene or menacing character, by means of a public electronic communications network.”

It can also be used to charge people sending messages via telephone or email.

The MoJ figures show that as well as prosecuting over 1,000 online trolls, a further 685 were cautioned under the act.

Trolls have also been prosecuted under the Malicious Communications Act, which prohibits sending threatening messages via letter, email or within articles.