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A court in Virginia has ruled what you may have already assumed was true: That Facebook “likes” are protected as free speech under the Constitution.
The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit brought by sheriff deputies in Hampton, Va., one of whom claimed he was fired for “liking” the Facebook page of his boss Sheriff B.J. Roberts’ opponent. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Va. overturned an opinion of a lower court Wednesday that said “likes” aren’t sufficient enough to be protected speech.
From the ruling by Chief Judge William Traxler:
In sum, liking a political candidate’s campaign page communicates the user’s approval of the candidate and supports the campaign by associating the user with it. In this way, it is the Internet equivalent of displaying a political sign in one’s front yard, which the Supreme Court has held is substantive speech.
So go ahead and “like” away, Facebook users. The Constitution has your finger’s back.
