virtual protests and the EU

Last week's virtual protest march seems to have gone off pretty well. Was it legal?

Would it be legal if it took place in the European Union? Maybe. But that could be because the law didn't change there until Friday.

If EU citizens bombarded British prime minister Tony Blair's e-mail, fax or phone lines in the way thousands of American protesters targeted government offices in Washington last week, they could have committed a criminal offense under this new code, said Leon de Costa, chief executive of Judicium, a London-based legal consultancy.

It appears that they are considering changing the law to distinquish between protests and criminal acts.