The 3-year-old daughter of Liverpool FC footballer, Steven Gerrard, has been the victim of trolling it has been revealed.
Steven Gerrard daughter, Lourdes, was targeted by a troll who said he wanted to have sex with her. The troll, a lower league footballer, faces expulsion from his club as a result of the posting.
Internet trolling and cyber-stalking expert, Jonathan Bishop, says that such actions cross the barrier of what should be considered free speech. “It is one thing to target celebrities with abusive comments, but involving their children and other family members cannot in any way be considered cyber-banter,” he said. “If one thinks that Matthew Woods went to jail for reposting a sick joke about missing April Jones, why should a professional footballer get a slap on the wrist?
“There should not be rules for one and rules for another, as either the law is enforced against all people for the same unlawful act, whether professionals or otherwise, or those laws should be considered bad laws and not enforced.
“Matthew Woods in my view did not cross the barrier of free speech by reposting a joke from Sikipedia, as his joke cannot be compared to the sick comment of this unnamed footballer.“