NETWATCH . . . ONLINE HARRASSMENT IS A CRIME

Threatening someone over the computer will now be a crime under a new Connecticut law. Connecticut is the third state to ban online acts that intend to harass, annoy or alarm another person. Several other states are considering such legislation. Although some fear that the wording of the new law is too vague, giving the government too much power to determine what kind of speech is acceptable, state lawmakers say it just extends legal prohibitions against harassment to computer communications. "This simply takes existing law into the 21st Century," says the law's sponsor, Representative Patricia Dillion. "We're not talking about making flaming illegal."