TMCnet Feature Free eNews Subscription
September 06, 2011

The Two Versions of the Story behind Mexico's 'Twitter Terrorists'

By Tracey E. Schelmetic, TMCnet Contributor

Can you be prosecuted for “inciting violence” if you're merely re-Tweeting something? What if the Tweet is false? Can you be prosecuted for spreading false information and inciting riots?

These are the kinds of messy questions arising in the brave new world of social networking in the face of laws that are still more than 20 years behind the technology.

Two individuals in Mexico – a private school teacher and a radio broadcaster – are potentially looking at 30-year prison terms under anti-terrorism laws for allegedly using Twitter (News - Alert) to spread panic over a series of child kidnappings that turned out to be fictional, authorities say. UK newspaper the Guardian reports that 48-year-old Gilberto Martinez Vera and reporter Maria de Jesus Bravo Pagola both Tweeted that gunmen were attacking schools in the south-eastern Mexican city of Veracruz, causing parents to panic and rush out to pick up their children, leading to car crashes and traffic jams from cars abandoned in the middle of the road. Emergency telephone lines “totally collapsed” under heavy usage resulting from the Tweets, say police.



One official in Veracruz likened the incident to the panic caused by Orson Welles' 1938 broadcast “War of the Worlds” that caused mass panic and even some suicides after many believed that the earth was really being invaded by aliens, reported the Guardian.

Lawyers for Vera and Pagola maintain that the two were merely re-Tweeting information that had been sent to them, not trying to cause mass panic.

Said Pagola through her lawyer, “How can they possibly do this to me, for re-tweeting a message? I mean, it's 140 characters. It's not logical.”

The Veracruz government, in the meantime, is being accused by rights groups of blocking freedom of speech and using the Pagola and Vera as scapegoats for the local drug violence officials seem unable to stem.

The Group Reporters Without Borders released a statement, saying that “Despite the imprudent nature of some of the messages that Martínez and Bravo posted online, these charges are insane and we call for their immediate release.”

Reported storyful.com, the Governor of Veracruz said – via a Tweet – that he was in favor of freedom of expression but also defended the right to live in peace and quiet.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2011, taking place Sept. 13-15, 2011, in Austin, Texas. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. To register, click here.


Tracey Schelmetic is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Tracey's articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Rich Steeves
» More TMCnet Feature Articles
Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. [Free eNews Subscription]
SHARE THIS ARTICLE

LATEST TMCNET ARTICLES

» More TMCnet Feature Articles