News Item: Twitter User Might Get Jail Time.

[scotth266]

Twitter User Might Get Jail Time. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.122112]

A Guatemalan man might be the first person to face jail time for using the popular blogging tool Twitter.

Jean Anleu, a Guatemalan citizen, was fed up recently with a banking scandal and posted a tweet about it. Writing under his username "jeanfer," he urged depositors to withdraw their money from Guatemala's rural development bank. The reason for his anger seems to be the management of the bank, which has become mired in a political scandal.

The tweet he posted was: "First concrete action should be take cash out of Banrural and bankrupt the bank of the corrupt."

Anleu was tracked down, arrested, and thrown in jail for a day and a half with dangerous criminals until he posted bail. He was arrested on the charge of "illegally undermined public trust in Guatemala's banking system" and could face five years in jail if convicted. Ironically, if the government wanted to keep attention away from him they have failed miserably: his Tweet was thrown around the Internet, and the number of his followers increased from around 175 to about 1,600. Half of his $6,200 bail was also paid for by fellow users of Twitter: the other half was paid for by a company he works for.

This Escapian/Twitter user believes that this is a trumped-up charge meant to silence opponents of the government. I'm pretty sure that the man was only trying to give his opinion on the matter: arresting him for that is crazy.

Source: MSNBC News. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31568219/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/]

Permalink [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.122112]

 

[scotth266]

Wait, you can get punished for complaining on Twitter? I'm fucked...

In Guatemala, yes. In the US? No chance in hell, unless you were using it to traffic drugs or something. In that case you deserve what you get.

 

[The Infamous Scamola]

Wait, you can get punished for complaining on Twitter? I'm fucked...

Another privilege of being Guatemalan.

 

[aww yea]

i love the internet

try and fight it and you'll just strengthen its cause

 

[PurpleRain]

Illegally undermined public trust in Guatemala's banking system? What a stupid law! What a stupid stupid law! Where does the freedom of speach and the rally of the people go? It goes and does 5 years is where.

 

[Zeidrich2004]

I dunno... Doesn't it all come under inciting public unrest or something like that?

 

[Levk]

Guatemalan = not usa = who cares about an other countries rules or regulations, really? we have enough issues without thinking about some other person from another country where there are different rules and laws then our own.

 

[PurpleRain]

Guatemalan = not usa = who cares about an other countries rules or regulations, really? we have enough issues without thinking about some other person from another country where there are different rules and laws then our own.

This quote makes me sad.

 

[Grayjack]

As a Guatemalan, I can't help but feel sad face about this.

 

[Levk]

sorry you did not like me post, but i said that for my side, but then i also forgot other people from other countries are here, but outta all the things to worry about this is something that just happens. But at the same time I really did not care that MJ died (which is why i never said anything in there topics) but i think i just forgot for a sec not every in here is from same place i am, but ima sure there more things to worry about as well, it is there countries rules and laws nothing can be done its how they choose to do it. if i said something harsh you did not like you can just never read it ^^ tata

 

[Labyrinth]

Guatemalan = not usa = who cares about an other countries rules or regulations, really? we have enough issues without thinking about some other person from another country where there are different rules and laws then our own.

In case you haven't noticed the USA has a huge impact upon the rest of the world. The policy your beloved country implements causes any number of little shockwaves which upset a balance half way across the world, be it in the banking sector, or mining, or anything along the production line because the US not only consumes a lot of stuff, it is also a global superpower. Isolationist ideas such as this do nothing for either your country or for the world in which it is part.

Now to the point of the thread.

As an Australian internet user about to get smacked with a lot of filtering in this latest CleanFeed bullshit I am increasingly frustrated by such things in the rest of the world. It's truly poor governance to throw this guy in jail because he kicked a bruise.

 

[PurpleRain]

sorry you did not like me post, but i said that for my side, but then i also forgot other people from other countries are here, but outta all the things to worry about this is something that just happens. But at the same time I really did not care that MJ died (which is why i never said anything in there topics) but i think i just forgot for a sec not every in here is from same place i am, but ima sure there more things to worry about as well, it is there countries rules and laws nothing can be done its how they choose to do it. if i said something harsh you did not like you can just never read it ^^ tata

It's just the fact that you're so dispassionate because it is not America. Do you care about Iran or the problems in Africa? I'd hate to think that you are so self-centred that your rules and your land of dirt is all that matters in this world. Plus this entire community is built out of many many different countries. What doesn't matter to you could effect a great deal of people here.
'not usa = who cares...'
People not you apparently.
Plus:
'you can just never read it'
That doesn't make sense. You wrote it down to be read. I did so and felt objected to it. Take more pride and care into what you write. After you say something, people are going to read it and take it however they understand it as. If you wrote the above and didn't mean it that way, then it would be mostly your fault as you should have looked closer into what you were doing.

 

[Levk]

i actually don't care about other countries, hard to care about countries when you can't even take care of your own. i also lost a lot of faith in usa so go figure. but you gotta remember something, rules of another land do not effect me the rules of where i am at does.

 

[ChromeAlchemist]

-snip-

Just to let you know scotth226, you may have to lose the format eventually. I did the same format in the past and the mods removed it, saying (understandably) that it would confuse people if they mistake it for a real newshound report. Just giving you a heads up.

As for this, this is ridiculous. That's a foolish law, and to think such outrageous laws are becoming commonplace doesn't bode well.

 

[PurpleRain]

i actually don't care about other countries, hard to care about countries when you can't even take care of your own. i also lost a lot of faith in usa so go figure. but you gotta remember something, rules of another land do not effect me the rules of where i am at does.

I'm not sure how old you are (trieds looking at your profile) so I'll just say, you don't need faith in your own country to take concern in someone elses. The fact you do makes little sense. Seeing as the laws don't effect you doesn't mean that you have to be blissfully ignorent of everything else they do. I try to take up as much knowledge as I can of other countries so I can participate in understandings about them.
Geez, if you're really proactive you can always protest as well.

 

[Levk]

ok, i decided not to bother anymore really, not worth my time so, umm... you win? i won;t post here again i have better things to do then argue or take more time outta my day to explain myself, i am who i am and if age matters to you that much then it does you are you and i am me and all we did was waste time laterz

 

[PurpleRain]

ok, i decided not to bother anymore really, not worth my time so, umm... you win? i won;t post here again i have better things to do then argue or take more time outta my day to explain myself, i am who i am and if age matters to you that much then it does you are you and i am me and all we did was waste time laterz

What's wrong with arguing? Obviously no one won if you won't go away with something learnt. I'd really like to hear what you mean if you haven't explained yourself yet. I don't see this as a wste of time.

As for your age, I was only wanting to see how much knowledge you might have gathered on certain subjects (though this seems a little arrogent of me).