Swiss Court Rules Finds “Liking” Facebook Post Can Be Defamatory

From Fortune: A Swiss court has found a defendant guilty of defamation because he “liked” anti-semitic Facebook posts aimed at an activist animal rights plaintiff.  The plaintiff demonstrated that the defendant’s “likes” spread the content to others without justifiable cause, and caused harm to the plaintiff’s reputation.

Under the Swiss Criminal Code courts can impose a fine on defendants found guilty of defamation.  The  judge in the Facebook post comment case has imposed a $4,000 fine.

Compare the court’s ruling with a 2015 Pennsylvania case in which a court ruled that “liking” a Facebook post is not defamatory. 

More about the Swiss case here from CNN Money  and The Telegraph.