ENGLAND (TIP): People who use social media accounts under other names to harass and attack others should be charged, according to the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service.

The new rules could allow for the prosecution of people who create a profile “under the name of the victim with fake information uploaded which, if believed, could damage their reputation and humiliate them,” the CPS said.

Authorities said that the new rules were a response to the changing nature of online crime. “It is vital that prosecutors consider the bigger picture when looking at evidence and examine both the online and offline behaviour pattern of the defendant,” director of public prosecutions Alison Saunders said.

Social media giants such as Twitter and Facebook have facilities in place to report impersonation accounts. Facebook’s help centre says “impostor accounts” are not allowed.