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New Perspectives on Cybercrime pp 159–174Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Silenced by Free Speech: How Cyberabuse Affects Debate and Democracy

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Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Cybercrime and Cybersecurity ((PSCYBER))

Abstract

The early days of the Internet promised much. Posting online seemed to offer a freedom from expectation and prejudice. In the words of the New Yorker cartoon, on the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog. We believed nobody knew your gender, age or race either. Your beauty or lack of it was of no account, your mind was disembodied, pure spirit, freed from the hidebound judgements of society.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    If it seems determination to silence women is more common on the right-wing, it is worth pointing out the hard-left misogynists who targeted BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg. A petition that accused her of pro-Conservative bias and called for her to be sacked was taken down by the original poster after it was overwhelmed with sexist abuse (Jackson 2016).

  2. 2.

    Despite exhaustive searches, I am unable to find the original source of this comparison of these two novels.

  3. 3.

    Thanks to Lord Herman Ouseley for granting an interview.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Director of UCLan Cybercrime Research Unit, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom

    Dr Tim Owen

  2. Director of UCLan Cybercrime Research Unit, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom

    Wayne Noble

  3. Director of UCLan Cybercrime Research Unit, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom

    Faye Christabel Speed

Authors
  1. Dr Tim Owen
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  2. Wayne Noble
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  3. Faye Christabel Speed
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Owen, T., Noble, W., Speed, F.C. (2017). Silenced by Free Speech: How Cyberabuse Affects Debate and Democracy. In: New Perspectives on Cybercrime. Palgrave Studies in Cybercrime and Cybersecurity. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53856-3_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53856-3_9

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-53855-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-53856-3

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