TIME Tech legal The Supreme Court Is About to Make a Big Decision About Facebook Free Speech Till JacketGetty Images/Photononstop RM The case could have big implications for how we use social media

The Supreme Court on Monday will consider whether violent language posted on social media is covered by the First Amendments protection of free speech.

The case, Elonis v. United States, hinges around the question of whether a Facebook message can be considered a true threat, or a threat a reasonable person would determine to be real. That would be an important distinction, because true threats dont get First Amendment coverage. But it wont be an easy problem to solve: While it can be easy to call a threat true if its given verbally, making that call gets harder when threats are posted online, where they lack the context, tone and other indicators of intent present in verbal communication. Its also arguably easier to make threats online, especially if its done anonymously.

What happened?

A lower court had sentenced Pennsylvania man Anthony Elonis to about four years in federal prison over several Facebook posts threatening his estranged wife. The posts included, among other things, raps about slitting his wifes throat and about how her protection order against him wouldnt be enough to stop a bullet.

A sample:

Theres one way to love you but a thousand ways to kill you. Im not going to rest until your body is a mess, soaked in blood and dying from all the little cuts.

But how is that not a true threat?

Elonis contends his posts werent a threat to his wife but rather a therapeutic form of expression. Its commonly accepted that violent images are often part of rap music and other media, and artistic expression is protected under the First Amendment, explaining Elonis legal strategy. Still, the issue of whether Elonis had the intent to threaten is not necessary for a threat to be deemed a true threat. That requires only for a reasonable person to believe a threat is authentic.

The dividing line here is whether were judging the threat based on the intent of the speaker, or on the reaction of the people who read it and wouldve felt threatened. Thats really the key question, said William McGeveran, a law professor at the University of Minnesota.

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The Supreme Court Is About to Make a Big Decision About Facebook Free Speech