The question is whether Facebook likes qualify for free speech protection, and this morning, the court of appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that they do, overturning an earlier ruling which held that free speech required a more significant public act than clicking a button. The new ruling holds that Liking a page is the "Internet equivalent of displaying a political sign in one’s front yard," an activity which has been established to fall under free speech protection. As a result, Roberts' deputies are cleared to sue the sheriff for retaliating on the basis of protected speech. The court continued, "That a user may use a single mouse click to produce that message that he likes the page instead of typing the same message with several individual key strokes is of no constitutional significance."U.S. Court Rules Facebook 'Likes' Are Protected Free Speech [theverge.com]