Facebook ‘Likes’ are a First Amendment right even if you’re liking your sheriff’s competitor

Facebook finds itself as the center of another court ruling. This time, one of their most popular features is receiving protection from the US Constitution. “Like” whatever you want. Your boss can’t fire you over it.

“Liking” something on Facebook is a form of speech protected by the First Amendment, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday, reviving a closely watched case over the extent to which the Constitution shields what we do online.

In doing so, the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with a former deputy sheriff in Hampton, Va., who said he was sacked for “liking” the Facebook page of a man running against his boss for city sheriff.