A federal judge has ruled that “liking” something on Facebook is protected free speech, an important ruling for workers, particularly those who work in government agencies or for elected officials.
The ruling, from the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, found that much like a campaign sign or a button, “liking” a political candidate on Facebook is protected free speech.
The case came out of Virginia. A Hampton, Vir., sheriff’s deputy named Daniel Ray Carter decided to “like” the campaign page of “Jim Adams for Sheriff.” Carter actually worked at the time for Sheriff B.J. Roberts, who was being challenged for office by Adams.
After Roberts beat Adams in the election, he fired Carter. Carter filed a lawsuit, saying his “like” on Adam’s campaign page led to his dismissal.
Facebook itself joined in on the defense of Carter, writing in a court brief that use of a “like” on the social media site should be protected as free speech under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
They compared Carter’s liking of Adams as “the 21st Century equivalent of a front-yard campaign sign.” They noted that if Carter had simply publicly said that he liked Adams, there would no doubt that his opinion and statement were protected by free speech.
The ACLU also came to Carter’s defense, saying that “the ease” of doing things on the Internet – one button click can lead to posting a comment, photo or video – does not take away from their “expressive nature.” They questioned why pushing a button to say you “like” something would somehow not be protected speech, while affixing a button to your lapel supporting a candidate would be protected.
A federal appeals judge last week apparently agreed with at least some of these arguments, ruling that Carter had the right to “like” the campaign page of his boss’s opponent, basically equating pushing a Facebook “like” button to saying that you like something or someone, which is protected by free speech, according to webpronews.com.
While the ruling is significant for many workers in business and perhaps especially those working for political candidates, it’s important for employees to remember that posting to Facebook is something that should be considered carefully before pushing the “enter” key.
For example, while using Facebook is not against federal law, it can lead to someone losing their job, such as the Taco Bell employee who posted a photo of himself licking taco shells earlier this year and was fired by the fast food giant.
