From CNN comes the story of a fascinating First Amendment case.
A Virginia sheriff’s deputy has been fired for liking his boss’s political opponent — on Facebook.
Now Daniel Ray Carter Jr. is fighting back in court, arguing that a “like” should be protected by his First Amendment right to free speech. It’s a case that could settle a significant question at a time when hundreds of millions of people express themselves on Facebook, sometimes merging their personal, professional and political lives in the process.
So far, a judge has ruled the “like” is NOT protected free speech.
“Liking a Facebook page is insufficient speech to merit constitutional protection,” Judge Judge Raymond A. Jackson wrote in his May ruling, because it doesn’t “involve actual statements.”
