Sticks and stones may break bones, but words never hurt. Or do they? Laws and ordinances passed in a number of cities and states across the country—and in a bill now under consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives—treat harsh words on the Internet quite differently from those on the playground.
In Virginia, for example, it is a misdemeanor “with the intent to coerce, intimidate, or harass any person” to “use a computer or computer network to communicate obscene, vulgar, profane, lewd, lascivious, or indecent language, or make any suggestion or proposal of an obscene nature, or threaten any illegal or immoral act.” Similarly, in Connecticut it is a misdemeanor “with intent to harass, annoy or alarm another person” to “communicate[] with a person…by computer network…in a manner likely to cause annoyance or alarm.”1
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