ACLU and Facebook Defend the Right to 'Like'

The right to "like" something on Facebook is protected under the First Amendment, say the American Civil Liberties Union and Facebook.

The civil-liberties organization and the social-media company made that argument in amicus briefs filed in a lawsuit filed by Daniel Ray Carter Jr., a Hampton (VA) deputy sheriff. The deputy says he was fired from his job by elected Sheriff B.J. Roberts after he clicked the "Like" button on the Facebook page of Jim Adams, a candidate challenging Roberts in a 2009 election. A federal District Court ruled in May that liking a Facebook page "is insufficient speech to merit constitutional protection." The case is on appeal to the Fourth Circuit, but as of this writing, no oral arguments are scheduled.