Fourth Circuit Holds That Facebook “Like” Is Protected by the First Amendment

Remember that Facebook photo of a friend’s vacation that you “liked” a couple of days ago?  Well, congratulations, you’ve just exercised your constitutional right to free speech!  This week, in an intensely followed case in the Fourth Circuit, the court held that “liking” something on Facebook is “a form of speech protected by the First Amendment.”

In Bland v. Roberts, No. 12-1671 (4th Cir. Sept. 18, 2013) , the former deputy sherrif of Hampton Virginia alleged he was fired because he had “liked” the Facebook page of  a man opposing his boss in the race for sherrif of the city.  Last year, a federal district court held that this was “insufficient speech to merit constitutional protection.”  The district court found that, although First Amendement protection might apply to Facebook posts, such posts are actual statements in a way a “like” is not.

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