By Beth Stebner / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Thumbs up for free speech!

“Liking” something on Facebook is protected under the First Amendment, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

In a landmark case, the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of six defendants who claimed a sheriff’s deputy in Hampton, Va. was let go for liking the Facebook page of his boss’ opponent.

The ruling is a huge landmark in Constitutional rights, which have often lagged decades behind the curve of technology and social media.

Sheriff’s deputy Daniel Ray Carter Jr. and five other employees were fired by Sheriff B.J. Roberts for supporting Roberts’ rival in the 2009 election, court documents show.

But Carter felt that simply “liking” the “Jim Adams for Hampton Sheriff” campaign page was not grounds for termination, and sued Roberts.

However, the court ruled that expressing interest on Facebook is the “internet equivalent of displaying a political sign in one’s front yard, which the Supreme Court has held is substantive speech,” they wrote.

The Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog reports that Wednesday’s ruling follows a lengthy legal battle over the action of “liking.”

Last year, federal district judge Raymond A. Jackson threw out the case, saying that “liking” something on the social media site was “insufficient speech to merit constitutional protection.”