Those of us in the States can “like” away, as a federal court in 2013 stated that a “like” on social media is protected speech under the First Amendment, but those in other countries are not so lucky and need to think twice before engaging in what should be a harmless gesture: $4,000 is what a Swiss man owes after giving the thumbs up to defamatory comments. The judge’s argument was that this action was a clear endorsement of the content, and it made the comments “accessible to a large number of people,” since Facebook showed them to all of his friends and followers. Thanks to Kyle for this one.



…comments suggested that Erwin Kessler, who runs an animal rights group, holds racist and anti-Semitic views. The defendant, who has not been named in the court documents, clicked “like” on some of those comments and linked to some of the posts. The judge ruled that by clicking the “like” button, the defendant “clearly endorsed the unseemly content.” According to Swiss media reports, Kessler has sued a number of people who participated in those discussions, which began in 2015 during a debate over which animal rights groups should be allowed to participate in a vegan street festival.

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Source: [H]ardOCP – Man Fined ,000 for “Liking” Controversial Posts on Facebook