When your friend updates his/her status, or uploads a photo, that “Like” you give might not be as innocent as it seems, at least not anymore. According to reports, a sheriff in Virginia fired six of his employees for actions that“hindered the harmony and efficiency of the office.” (via New York Times) The real reason? Apparently one of them “Liked” the page of the sheriff’s political opponent. Now in state of Virginia, public employees are free to speak out on political matters, even if it’s against their employers so would Liking a page be counted as freedom of speech? According to Judge Raymond Jackson who was presiding over the case, it doesn’t and this is what he had to say about it:
“Simply liking a Facebook page is insufficient […] It is not the kind of substantive statement that has previously warranted constitutional protection … For the Court to assume that the Plaintiffs made some specific statement without evidence of such statements is improper.”
Of course this ruling did raise a couple of eyebrows and is highly debatable which led to some expressing their worry about how such a ruling might set the precedent for future lawsuits similar in nature. The ruling is expected to be appealed but what do you guys think?
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