The case concerned Billy Raymond Counterman, who sent multiple Internet messages to musician Wheel Whalen, whom he had never met, some of which were considered threats by a lower court. The Supreme Court ruled that the objective standard used by the Colorado court violated Counterman’s free speech.
The case has now been returned to the lower court for another test using the “subjective recklessness standard”.
The decision was welcomed by freedom of expression advocates, as it ensures that non-threatening language such as sarcasm or exaggeration is not misinterpreted and has legal consequences. However, critics argue that the decision could make it harder to prosecute those who send threats online.
Source: Ferra
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