A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit overturned a trial judge who concluded that the act of "liking" a Facebook page does not come with constitutional protection. The appeals court revived certain claims in a suit against a Virginia sheriff who didn't reappoint a group of employees who supported a rival candidate for office.
"On the most basic level, clicking on the 'like' button literally causes to be published the statement that the user 'likes' something, which is itself a substantive statement," Chief Judge William Traxler Jr. wrote in the Fourth Circuit ruling. "Aside from the fact that liking the Campaign Page constituted pure speech, it also was symbolic expression."
