Think your words online can’t come back to bite you? Think again.

More on that in a moment on the Face The State Radio Minute.

David Harsanyi, the Denver Post columnist who recently wrote a book about the growing “nanny state,” has a warning for Internet users: The police are online, too. And they’re more and more willing to charge individuals for their actions in cyberspace.

I’m not just talking about clearly criminal acts perpetrated by computer. For a long time the authorities have rightly prosecuted cases of online child exploitation and business fraud. No, individuals are now hauled into court for much less. In one case detailed by Harsanyi in a recent column, a Colorado man was criminally charged for an angry posting targeting a former girlfriend.

Was this ex-boyfriend committing a crime when he ranted on Craigslist? Police used a flimsy, vague law from the 1800’s to make their case. You decide, but the charges set a scary precedent.

For FaceTheState.com, I’m Brad Jones.