Since late last year, the fad among policing departments here has been arresting people for Facebook posts.
At least six unlucky individuals have been charged for online defamation under the Telecommunications Act, nearly all for posts that insulted somebody’s dignity in one way or another.
The latest case involves three people who were talking trash about a coworker, the Global New Light of Myanmar reported.
The coworker complained over the weekend and the police sprang into action.
What’s worrisome is not the specifics of this particular case (we don’t know what was said and it may have been more serious than assumed), but that the police are telling people to keep the complaints coming.
The New Light reports that the police “recently invited social media users to report internet-related crimes and scams with strong evidence, such as electronic records.”
They even left their phone number!
Now there’s nothing wrong with a little community outreach, but let’s not start complaining to somebody when they talk about us on Facebook unless the talk involves actual criminal activity, not hurt feelings.
