A new anti-terror law has come into effect as of 21 June 2007 : the Electronic Commerce Directive (Terrorism Act 2006) Regulations 2007. Under these new provisions (which operate in conjunction with the Terrorism Act 2006), encouraging acts of terrorism and the dissemination of terrorist publications is an offence, including where such actions occur online. If a third party posts material which is an offence under these provisions, the police may notify a blog operator and require them to take the offending material down promptly (within two days). Failure to do so without cause could result in the Directors going to prison!
Aside from the other legal risks associated with blogging, blog hosts clearly now need to ensure they're not inadvertently encouraging terrorism. Often, going after a blog host where offences are committed online is much easier then tracking down the individual who actually committed the offence, who may try to hide behind the anonymous nature of the internet.
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