Sunday, September 22, 2013

U.S. court says "like" on Facebook has protection ... - Público.pt

Do a “like” on Facebook is an act of speech significant enough to be protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression, according to the decision of a U.S. court.

The case that led to this conclusion court concerned a sheriff in the state of Virginia, which in 2009 was recandidatou the post. Subalterns, unhappy, decided to protest by doing “like” on the Facebook page of the opposing candidate.

The sheriff, however, was re-elected and the subaltern eventually dismissed on the grounds of budget cuts and the need for good relations in the workplace. The six employees challenged the dismissal in court, arguing that one of them had the right to express a preference for another candidate and that this action on Facebook was constitutionally protected.

A lower court ruled that the argument was unfounded because a “taste” was not an act of speech “noun” and therefore subject to constitutional protection.

On Wednesday, however, an appellate court ruled in favor of the complainants. “On a very basic level, click on the” taste “literally makes it published a statement saying that you” like “something, which in itself is a substantive statement” the judge wrote.

“What a user can use a single mouse click to produce the message that like a page, instead of writing this same message with multiple taps on individual keys, has no constitutional significance.”

Do “like” a Facebook campaign page, the decision continues, is “the equivalent on the Internet put a political poster in the front yard, something the Supreme Court has held to be substantive discourse.”

Facebook, through a representative of the legal department, issued a short statement to welcome the decision.

The court added that the sheriff will not have to compensate the plaintiffs. Justice has yet to decide on other parts of the complaint and the staff are likely to be readmitted if they win in court.

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