Next time you hit a "like" button on Facebook, beware of the legal implications. This proved to be a costly lesson for a man who was slapped a $4,100 fine by a Swiss court for liking several defamatory Facebook posts.
A Zurich court has convicted the unnamed man of several counts of defamation after he "liked" libelous comments on the widly popular social media platform.
The court found that the man had indirectly endorsed and further distributed the comments by using the ubiquitous Facebook "like" button, according to a CNN report on Thursday.
The man, who was not named in the court's statement, "liked" several posts written by a third party that accused an animal rights activist of anti-Semitism, racism and fascism.
In court, the man was not able to prove that the claims were accurate or could reasonably be held to be true, Fox5 reported.
"The defendant clearly endorsed the unseemly content and made it his own," the report quoted a statement from the court said.
The court fined the man a total of 4,000 Swiss francs ($4,100). He has the right to appeal his sentence.
Facebook did not immediately respond to a Fox request for comment, the news website reported.
CNN, however, reported that Facebook said the case had "no direct link" to the company, and a spokesperson declined to comment.
The case is believed to be the first time a court has interpreted a "like" as an explicit endorsement of a post.
