Mark Grabowski was quoted in a story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution involving free speech and social media threats. The story details how one dreadful social media post can have a lifetime of consequences. In the case of the store's subject, his anonymous Tumblr post threatening a school attack led to his college expulsion, six months in jail, a five-year social media ban and homelessness.
Grabowski addressed how the U.S. legal system assesses whether statements are protected by the First Amendment or not. "It comes down to a few different things: was it a true threat, or was it something he said in jest?” said the Adelphi University internet law and digital ethics professor. “If the statement can be reasonably interpreted by people as a joke, then it might not be considered a true threat. But if a court interprets that a message was intentionally threatening, it is treated as a threat regardless of whether the messenger has the means to carry the act out.”
Grabowski addressed how the U.S. legal system assesses whether statements are protected by the First Amendment or not. "It comes down to a few different things: was it a true threat, or was it something he said in jest?” said the Adelphi University internet law and digital ethics professor. “If the statement can be reasonably interpreted by people as a joke, then it might not be considered a true threat. But if a court interprets that a message was intentionally threatening, it is treated as a threat regardless of whether the messenger has the means to carry the act out.”
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