Fee for swearing on Facebook
“Hello police? Please come to Facebook!” – this slogan has been circulating in memes for a long time. So far, it has been treated as a joke. Judgment of the District Court for Warszawa-Śródmieście of January 21, 2016, ref. no. However, act XI W 3861/15 sheds a completely new light on this saying. It clearly shows that the Internet is a public place.
Swearing in a public place
It is worth knowing that the use of vulgar words in public (Art. 141 of the Financial Tribunal) and polluting a public place (Art. 145 of the Penal Code), despite the relative prevalence and perhaps unfortunately leniency, are offenses for which you can get a fine of up to PLN 1500. We should remember, however, that persons under the age of 17 are not liable for an offense (Art. 7 of the QXNUMX).
The Internet as a public place?
The question to consider is whether the Internet can be treated as a public place? In the past, the network was used mainly as a data collection that could be accessed as long as we had the appropriate connection. This understanding seems to be somewhat outdated. In the era of the development of social networking sites such as "Facebook", the nature of Internet use has also changed. We spend more and more time there, debates and virtual meetings take place here, and opinions and positions on a given matter are expressed. In this context, the Internet becomes a place of public use. Having doubts in this matter, we asked a lawyer for an opinion.
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Tomasz Tomaszczyk - attorney's opinion
In the reply sent to our editorial office, we read that:
“The Supreme Court has no doubt: the Internet is a public place (like, not to mention, a square or a boulevard) and one should also behave appropriately there. Some time ago, the district court discontinued the proceedings against Mateusz S. - the leader of the Duma i Nowoczesność association - accused of violating Art. 141 of the Petty Offenses Code.
Placing an offensive picture on a website
According to the provision: Whoever places an indecent advertisement, inscription or drawing in a public place, or uses indecent words, shall be subject to the penalty of restriction of liberty, a fine of up to PLN 1500 or a reprimand. This act consisted in placing offensive inscriptions and pictures on the association's website (eg "pedaling ban").
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The court of first instance acquits
The court of first instance found that the Internet cannot be considered a public place. It is supposed to be - in the opinion of the court - a data set rather than a virtual equivalent of a "place". This position was not shared by the Commissioner for Civil Rights Protection and submitted a cassation appeal to the Supreme Court. The position of this authority is completely different: the Internet is a public place, not just a collection of data stored on server disks.
As we read in the press release: The Supreme Court shared the view of the Human Rights Defender and concluded that the Internet is a public place within the meaning of Art. 141 sq m, which resulted in the annulment of the impugned decision and the referral of the case for reconsideration by the District Court.
Fee for swearing on Facebook - Anachronistic arguments
"The arguments referred to by the District Court when discontinuing the proceedings are anachronistic and have not been reliably substantiated", the court indicated in the oral grounds of the justification. He added that the content published on the Internet, although it is physically located on hard drives, nevertheless creates a "certain space", and if it is available on a website that anyone can access without restrictions, then such space should be considered a place public.
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It is impossible to disagree with this position. The Internet is now treated as an equal meeting place - debates and discussions take place here, we spend our time here (e.g. at Bezprawnik), and here we express our positions and opinions. Artificially separating the Internet from the offline world no longer makes sense. This means that if a given behavior is penalized in reality, it is the same in the virtual space. Of course, if such an act is feasible, alcohol cannot be drunk on the Internet for now. However, it cannot be said that the above judgment is new. For a long time, law enforcement agencies have been dealing with cases involving, for example, insulting the president via social media. It is rather a reminder to the judges (especially the older ones) that the Internet is an everyday reality, not just a toy for young people ”.
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Fee for swearing on Facebook - What does it mean in practice?
One of the residents of Poznań learned how punishing the curses used on the Internet looks like in practice. As reports Bezprawnik.pl, he was outraged by how the heaters in city trams work. He decided to transfer his dissatisfaction to the Internet, and in his commentary he used the most popular Polish curse. Another user did not like this, and he decided to inform the municipal police about this fact, which reacted fairly quickly. Two months after posting the comment, its author received a summons to explain. He decided to show this document on his Facebook profile.
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The summons is genuine
The authenticity of the summons was confirmed by a Super Express journalist. He called the press spokesman of the Poznań city guard - Jacek Kubiak - who admitted that he had received a notification of a suspected offense. For this reason, the suspect was summoned to provide explanations in this matter. Only after the author of the comment appears, decisions will be made as to the further proceedings. The man is threatened with a fine of up to PLN 1500.
Be careful what you post
The Internet is a public place and using swear words, e.g. in comments on Facebook, is punishable. However, vulgarisms and offensive images are not the only things that we should not publish online. It is worth being aware that, for example, threats, hating, insulting, publishing someone's image, "stupid bomb jokes" or photos of plants resembling cannabis are things for which you may be held criminally liable. That's why it's even more worth reading your comment three times before pressing the "publish" button.
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