2. Social Media, is it protected under 1st Amendment? Bland v. Roberts
Social media could be defined as a way in which people use applications through Web 2.0 in a way that allows the creation and exchange of user-generated content (Kaplan & Haenlein). Whether it is Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, social media is starting to take over the Internet in a way that has not been seen. User generated content allows people to interact with each other in a way that was previously unavailable. Because of the possibilities surrounding social media, it is important to consider social media in its context with freedom of speech, and also the workplace. Bland v. Roberts was a case in which a group of employees sued for wrongful termination due to the fact that a group of employees supported a different candidate for Sheriff. Roberts was the Sheriff, and noticed that a group of employees had “liked” the Facebook page of his opponent. In their complaint, the group led by Bland said that because they supported Roberts’ opponent, Jim Adams, that Roberts violated their First Amendment rights because he fired them after he found out that the group supported Roberts. The group stated that their terminations were “unlawful, retaliatory, and improper in that the Defendant B.J. Roberts effected these terminations because the Plaintiffs exercised their rights to freedom of speech in refusing to support Roberts’ re-election efforts and in actively supporting Roberts’ opponent” (Bland v. Roberts). Roberts followed up by arguing that their claims fail because could not prove a “casual nexus between their alleged speech and Sheriff Roberts’ decision not to reappoint them” (Bland v. Roberts). Sheriff Roberts, among other things, also stated that he was protected by the Eleventh Amendment from being sued in his role as Sheriff. Eventually, the Defendant won out for a few reasons.