How Facebook 'Likes' Can Get You Fired

By Brock Vergakis


NORFOLK, Va. -- The "like" button on Facebook seems like a relatively clear way to express your support for something, but a federal judge says that doesn't mean clicking it is constitutionally protected speech.

Exactly what a "like" means -- if anything -- played a part in a case in Virginia involving six people who say that Hampton Sheriff B.J. Roberts fired them for supporting an opponent in his 2009 re-election bid, which he won. The workers sued, saying their First Amendment rights were violated.