A Facebook “like” is a form of free speech upheld by the First Amendment, a US federal court has ruled.
The judgment suggests that, in the eyes of the law, pressing the relevant button on the social network site is as meaningful as attending a political rally
The case involved Daniel Carter, a former deputy sheriff in Virginia, who alleged that he was sacked in 2009 after “liking” the Facebook page of a candidate who was running against his boss for the role of city sheriff. The Fourth US Circuit Court of Appeals said that “liking” the campaign page, was the “internet equivalent of displaying a political sign in one’s front yard, which the Supreme Court has held is substantive speech.”
That overturned a previous