How the First Amendment Applies to Social Media

There is a new challenge looming on the Supreme Court’s docket for the term that starts in October, one that will require the Court to consider how the First Amendment applies to social media.

The First Amendment does not protect all speech. There are exceptions for libel, incitement, obscenity and fighting words, and one for “true threats.” The Supreme Court has not given a definitive answer to the question of whether intent matters in threat cases. The case, Elonis v. United States, No. 13-983, will be argued in the fall. It will again require the justices to confront a new technology and assess the meaning of the First Amendment in the age of the emoticon.