Police have become embroiled in a free speech row after officers told a cancer patient to apologise for a social media post.
Deborah Anderson, an American citizen living in Slough, was confronted by an officer from Thames Valley Police after someone complained about an offensive Facebook post. …
Anderson was visited at home by a single officer in June and informed that Thames Valley Police had received a complaint about her.
In a video shared by the FSU, the officer said: “Something we believe you have written on Facebook has upset someone.”
Anderson then asked: “You’re here because someone got upset? Is it against the law? Am I being arrested?”
The officer confirmed that she was not being arrested and explained: “My plan was that if it was you who wrote the comment, you could just make an apology to the person.”
Anderson replied: “I am not apologising to anybody, I can tell you that.”
The officer told her: “The alternative would be that I would have to call you in for interview.”
Anderson then asked the officer: “Are there no houses that have been burgled recently, no rapes, no murders? … Then why aren’t you out there investigating those?”
This is why we have to stop any laws that try to criminalise so called hate speech. Inevitably it leads to the Police intervening just because someone gets offended about something.
David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders
9 comments:
This may well be a concern, but I wouldn't believe anything that Stuff reports.
Exactly, David.
I have made that same point myself.
"Hate speech" laws - as proposed by Comrade Ardern - would have made it a crime to publish any comment that someone MIGHT find "offensive".
Dear me.
I find the Maori Party's policies "offensive". Hate speech laws, as proposed, means that I could ask the Police to arrest them.
Isn't it interesting that Farrars kiwiblog articles haven't featured Willis' ongoing protection of the electricity oligarchs, and just today included an article falsely justifying price colluding supermarkets.
Pot, kettle, black!
Too late: https://www.spectator.com.au/2025/10/rex-landy-womens-rights-activist-arrested/
Wow !! Anon 11:31. I have just checked that Speccie link out.
It is just outrageous !!
I'm always concerned that the government / police are going to subpoena BVs data records and try and prosecute critics of the government and their policies.
Wonder why so many stay anonymous ?
Why has this coalition not acted to reverse the outright stupidity of the Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Bill, in New Zealand that introduced in 2021 a self-identification process for changing the sex on a birth certificate? This change now allows individuals to amend their birth record through a straightforward administrative process by completing a statutory declaration - is there any end to the legislative folly that was the trademark legacy of Ardern's Government?
I have been pursued with a serious weapon, had expenive items on my person ruined, otherwise threatened, and $1000 of items blatantly stolen, all by same party (not of my household), All very reliably and independently witnessed. But because not all videoed start to finish with sound, police deign to charge. Until we revert to a no latitude approach as in the 1950s and before, the future for ordinnry citizens is grim. Meanwhie the Police occupy themselves fretting over mere words.
PS. It gets worse ... The bill passed its third reading in Parliament on 9 December 2021, with unanimous support from all parties represented - guess who they were and which party was NOT present.
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