We’re always being warned about what not to post on social networks – don’t reveal too much personal data, don’t publish that dodgy photo of you with your trousers around your ankles and a traffic cone on your head taken at the work Christmas party etc.
But it seems that on Facebook we also need to be careful about what we ‘like’. A worker at the Virginia sheriff’s department in the US has claimed that he was wrongly fired for ‘liking’ a page of his boss’ political rival.
A court ruled that clicking the ‘like’ button is "the equivalent of displaying a political sign in one’s front yard." But surely, liking a Facebook page is not the same as giving it your full backing or endorsement. There could be all manner of reasons for liking a page that don’t include actually liking it. I mean, I don’t even like some of my friends on Facebook!
This chap in Virginia has, at least, been granted an appeal by the Federal Court, which has sent the case back to the lower courts for reviewing, stating that hitting the ‘like’ button is exercising freedom of speech. It’ll be interesting to see if common sense prevails…
