Daily Archives: September 18, 2013

19 September 2013| last updated at 07:55AM

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond reversed a lower court ruling that said merely liking a Facebook page was insufficient speech to merit constitutional protection.

Exactly what a like means if anything played a part in a case involving six people who say Hampton Sheriff B.J. Roberts fired them for supporting an opponent in his 2009 re-election bid, which he won. The workers sued, saying their First Amendment free speech protections were violated.

Roberts said some of the workers were let go because he wanted to replace them with sworn deputies while others were fired because of poor performance or his belief that their actions hindered the harmony and efficiency of the office. One of those workers, Daniel Ray Carter, had liked the Facebook page of Roberts opponent, Jim Adams.

U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson in Norfolk had ruled in April 2012 that while public employees are allowed to speak as citizens on matters of public concern, clicking the like button does not amount to expressive speech. In other words, its not the same as actually writing out a message and posting it on the site.

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Clicking 'Like' on Facebook is free speech

A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that liking something on Facebook is a form of protected free speech in a closely watched Virginia case that tested the limits of the First Amendment in the digital age.

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond rejected a lower courts opinion that clicking the ubiquitous thumbs up icon was not actual speech, an opinion that would have had wide-ranging implications for millions of Facebook users and other new forms of expression on the web if it had stood.

[Liking] is the Internet equivalent of displaying a political sign in ones front yard, which the Supreme Court has held is substantive speech, the three judge panel wrote in their 81-page opinion.

The ruling grew out of a lawsuit brought by Hampton sheriffs deputies, one of whom claimed he was fired for liking the campaign page of his bosss opponent. Daniel Ray Carter, Jr. said the dismissal violated his First Amendment rights in the 2011 suit.

But U.S. District Court Judge Raymond A. Jackson issued a summary judgement against Carter in January 2012, saying liking didnt rise to the level of protected speech. Jackson said Carter needed to have made actual statements to make such a claim.

Facebook and the ACLU filed friend of the court briefs in the case, saying Jacksons ruling would erode free speech rights. In the brief, Facebook said its users register more than 3 billion likes and comments every day.

Facebook users can like a range of content that appears on the social media site from articles to photos to organizations. If a user clicks the thumbs up icon, the content appears on his or her Facebook feed.

The court properly recognized that in an era when so much of our communication takes place through social media liking a political Facebook page is an important means of political expression that deserves First Amendment expression, said Rebecca Glenberg, the ACLU legal director for Virginia.

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Facebook ‘liking’ is protected free speech, federal court says

RICHMOND, Virginia - Clicking "Like" on Facebook is constitutionally protected free speech, a US federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond reversed a lower court ruling that said merely "liking" a Facebook page was insufficient speech to merit constitutional protection.

Exactly what a "like" means - if anything - played a part in a case involving six people who say Hampton Sheriff B.J. Roberts fired them for supporting an opponent in his 2009 re-election bid, which he won.

The workers sued, saying their First Amendment free speech protections were violated.

Roberts said some of the workers were let go because he wanted to replace them with sworn deputies while others were fired because of poor performance or his belief that their actions "hindered the harmony and efficiency of the office." One of those workers, Daniel Ray Carter, had "liked" the Facebook page of Roberts' opponent, Jim Adams.

US District Judge Raymond Jackson in Norfolk had ruled in April 2012 that while public employees are allowed to speak as citizens on matters of public concern, clicking the "like" button does not amount to expressive speech. In other words, it's not the same as actually writing out a message and posting it on the site.

Jackson acknowledged that other courts have ruled that Facebook posts are constitutionally protected speech, but he said in those cases there were "actual statements." Simply clicking a button is much different and doesn't warrant First Amendment protection, he wrote.

In his ruling, Jackson acknowledged the need to weigh whether the employee's speech was a substantial factor in being fired. But the judge wrote that the point is moot if "liking" something isn't constitutionally protected speech.

The three-judge appeals court panel disagreed, ruling that:

"[L]iking 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."

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US court: Facebook 'Like' is free speech

RICHMOND, Va. Clicking Like on Facebook is constitutionally protected free speech and can be considered the 21st century-equivalent of a campaign yard sign, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond reversed a lower court ruling that said merely liking a Facebook page was insufficient speech to merit constitutional protection. Exactly what a like means if anything played a part in a Virginia case involving six people who say Hampton Sheriff B.J. Roberts fired them for supporting an opponent in his 2009 re-election bid, which he won. The workers sued, saying their First Amendment rights were violated.

Roberts said some of the workers were let go because he wanted to replace them with sworn deputies while others were fired because of poor performance or his belief that their actions hindered the harmony and efficiency of the office. One of those workers, Daniel Ray Carter, had liked the Facebook page of Roberts opponent, Jim Adams.

U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson in Norfolk had ruled in April 2012 that while public employees are allowed to speak as citizens on matters of public concern, clicking the like button does not amount to expressive speech. In other words, its not the same as actually writing out a message and posting it on the site.

Jackson acknowledged that other courts have ruled that Facebook posts are constitutionally protected speech, but he said in those cases there were actual statements. Simply clicking a button is much different and doesnt warrant First Amendment protection, he wrote. In his ruling, Jackson acknowledged the need to weigh whether the employees speech was a substantial factor in being fired. But the judge wrote that the point is moot if liking something isnt constitutionally protected speech.

The three-judge appeals court panel disagreed, ruling that liking a political candidates campaign page communicates the users 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 ones front yard, which the Supreme Court has held is substantive speech. The case was sent back to the lower court.

Facebook and the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed friend of court briefs in the case, applauded Wednesdays ruling. This ruling rightly recognizes that the First Amendment protects free speech regardless of the venue, whether a sentiment is expressed in the physical world or online, Ben Wizner, director of the ACLU Speech, Privacy & Technology Project, said in a written statement. The Constitution doesnt distinguish between liking a candidate on Facebook and supporting him in a town meeting or public rally.

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‘Like’ on Facebook is free speech, federal appeals court rules