Be Considered Terroristic Threats

Emojis undoubtedly carry meaning and emotion, but what about negative feelings and meanings? All that is left is a red, furious face. What about genuine dangers? Legally speaking, that is entirely conceivable, and in the past, emojis have even been classified as terrorist threats.

A 17-year-old posted two emojis as a status update on Facebook in 2017. The other was a gun, and one of them was a policeman. The police officer emoji was the target of the gun emoji. He did type some vaguely frightening comments that were generally intimidating, but there was no text-based threat included that was directed at police. The emojis themselves implied that police were at fault.

He was accused by New York police of making terroristic threats, an offense that may result in a seven-year prison sentence. Later, that particular charge was withdrawn. It was not because the cops changed their minds; rather, it was after a grand jury chose not to indict.