03/02/2020 Chambers v Director of Public Prosecutions [2012] EWHC 2157 (Admin) (27 July 2012) (a) The provision of material with a view to its being comprised in signals conveyed by means of an electronic communications network; (b) The exercise of editorial control over the contents of signals conveyed by means of such a network. 4. Section 151(1) is an interpretation section. It provides (1) In this Chapter … "Public electronic communications network" means an electronic communications network provided wholly or mainly for the purpose of making electronic communications services available to members of the public; "Public electronic communications service" means any electronic communications service that is provided so as to be available for use by members of the public;". The facts 5. We take the essential facts from the case stated. 6. The appellant was 26 years old at the time with which the court is concerned, a well educated young man of previous good character, holding a responsible job as an administration and finance supervisor. 7. The appellant was, and is, a registered user of the "Twitter" social networking platform, owned and operated by Twitter Inc., an American Corporation, typically accessed by a registered user by means of the internet. "Twitter" was not invented until 2006, that is after the enactment of the Act, but, as is the way with modern means of communication, its daily use by millions of people throughout the world has rocketed. 8. Each registered user adopts a unique user name or "Twitter handle". The appellant used his own name for this purpose and was registered as "@PaulJChambers", with a personal photograph as his account picture. 9. In very brief terms "Twitter" enables its users to post messages (of no more than 140 characters) on the "Twitter" interne and other sites. Such messages are called "tweets". "Tweets" include expressions of opinion, assertions of fact, gossip, jokes (bad ones as well as good ones), descriptions of what the user is or has been doing, or where he has been, or intends to go. Effectively it may communicate any information at all that the user wishes to send, and for some users, at any rate, it represents no more and no less than conversation without speech. 10. Those who use "Twitter" can be "followed" by other users and "Twitter" users often enter into conversations or dialogues with other "Twitter" users. Depending on how a user posts his "tweets", they can become available for others to read. A "public time line" of a user shows the most recent "tweets". Unless they are addressed as a direct message to another "Twitter" user or users, in which case the message will only be seen by the user posting the "tweet", and the specific user or users to whom it is addressed, the followers of a "Twitter" user are able to access his or her messages. Accordingly most "tweets" remain visible to the user and his/her followers for a short while, until they are replaced by more recently posted "tweets". As every "Twitter" user appreciates or should appreciate, it is possible for non-followers to access these "public time lines" and they, too, can then read the messages. It is also possible for non-users to use the "Twitter" search facility to find "tweets" of possible interest to them. 11. Using "Twitter" the appellant met another user of "Twitter", identified as "Crazy Colours", on line. She is a woman who lives in Northern Ireland. They started communicating using "Twitter", and a romance developed. The appellant was due to fly to Belfast from Doncaster Robin Hood Airport to meet "Crazycolours" on 15 January 2010. www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2012/2157.html 3/10