Much harsher rules on the way for prisoners with TikTok ban and 'internal' scanner
05.03.2024 - 18:11
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Prisoners seeking social media stardom from behind the walls of a cell will face harsher punishments and find it harder to smuggle in contraband mobile phones under new rules being brought before parliament.
Under UK law it is illegal for any prisoner to have an unauthorised phone while serving time, but in recent years prison authorities have struggled to stop the flow of contraband into British prisons. In addition to a ban on drones, "airport-style" scanners are also being introduced at prisons across the country to prevent phones and drugs from being smuggled "internally".
Currently, a cursory glance at the #Strangeways, #ForestBank, and #Prisonlife tags on TikTok, as well as posts on YouTube and Instagram, reveal purported prisoners recording rap music and filming ordinary prison life, with this snapshot of life behind bars then being uploaded to social media. Under the new Prison Media Bill, the illegality of these videos will be put "beyond doubt."
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The legislation will close a loophole that allows for these videos to be uploaded by a third party outside the prison. New rules would make this an illegal act, while also including photographs and audio recordings in the ban.
In August 2023, the Liverpool Echo reported that Connor Chapman, who shot dead innocent bystander Elle Edwards outside a pub in Wallasey, had been posing for selfies in prison, which were then uploaded to social media. The trigger-happy thug could be seen grinning and throwing up gang signs in the pictures.
Last year, the prison service found more than 890 such pieces of illegal content on social media, which could re-traumatise victims or be used to intimidate prison