Current:Home > Contact-usYelp sues Texas to keep crisis pregnancy center description labels-InfoLens
Yelp sues Texas to keep crisis pregnancy center description labels
View Date:2024-12-23 12:02:39
Online business review site Yelp is suing Texas to defend its descriptions of crisis pregnancy centers which make clear to readers that the centers do not provide abortions or abortion referrals.
Currently, Yelp applies an alert it calls a "Consumer Notice" to crisis pregnancy center listings reading, "This is a Crisis Pregnancy Center. Crisis Pregnancy Centers do not offer abortions or referrals to abortion providers."
Yelp is suing Texas to prevent Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton from punishing the company "for publishing truthful information about businesses that offer pregnancy-related counseling to the public," the company said in a complaint filed Wednesday in San Francisco federal court.
Paxton sued Yelp Thursday, claiming it violated Texas' Deceptive Trade Practices Act "by appending inaccurate and misleading language to listings on pregnancy resource centers appearing in the search results on Yelp's app and website."
"Yelp cannot mislead and deceive the public simply because the company disagrees with our state's abortion laws," Attorney General Paxton said in a statement. "Major companies cannot abuse their platforms and influence to control consumers' behavior, especially on sensitive health issues like pregnancy and abortion."
The suit comes after Paxton told Yelp he planned to sue the company for stating that crisis pregnancy centers "typically provide limited medical services and may not have licensed medical professionals onsite," Yelp told CBS MoneyWatch.
Yelp alleges such action violates the First Amendment. The company has also since changed its language to make clear the centers do not provide abortions, a statement Paxton has called "accurate."
Trustworthy information
Yelp explains it first started adding the notices to listings for crisis pregnancy centers in August 2022 when it found they were leading consumers seeking abortion care to anti-abortion counseling services.
Initially, the notices informed users that such centers "typically provide limited medical services and may not have licensed medical professionals onsite," a statement Yelp alleges is truthful and accurate and was "intended to enable Yelp users to make informed choices."
In February 2023 Paxton demanded that Yelp remove the notice, calling it misleading.
Yelp updated the notice to indicate that such centers don't provide abortions. Paxton conceded that the current crisis pregnancy center labelling language is "accurate." Still, Yelp expects Paxton to file suit as early as Friday.
- Illinois governor signs bill outlawing deception by "crisis pregnancy centers"
"The trust and safety of our users is a top priority for Yelp, which is why we take extensive measures to provide consumers with relevant and reliable information when they search for local businesses on our platform," Yelp said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch. "This is especially critical when people are searching for health care services on Yelp, including reproductive care."
Attorney General Paxton's office did not immediately reply to CBS MoneyWatch's request for comment.
Yelp has also taken action to protect its own employees in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The company pays for workers who live in states where their rights are limited to travel to get an abortion, Yelp Chief Diversity Officer Miriam Warren told CBS News.
"We recognize that in order to give our employees equal access to the health care they may need, we need a travel benefit to allow them to travel if necessary," she said.
veryGood! (94)
Related
- New Jersey will issue a drought warning after driest October ever and as wildfires rage
- California fire agency engineer arrested, suspected of starting 5 wildfires
- TCU coach Sonny Dykes ejected for two unsportsmanlike penalties in SMU rivalry game
- Colorado, Deion Sanders party after freak win vs. Baylor: `There's nothing like it'
- 'This dude is cool': 'Cross' star Aldis Hodge brings realism to literary detective
- Who plays on Monday Night Football? Breaking down Week 3 matchups
- Justin Herbert injury update: Chargers QB reinjures ankle in Week 3
- Lucius Bainbridge: From Investment Genius to Philanthropist
- Elon Musk responds after Chloe Fineman alleges he made her 'burst into tears' on 'SNL'
- Who plays on Sunday Night Football? Breaking down Week 3 matchup
Ranking
- Former Disney Star Skai Jackson Is Pregnant, Expecting First Baby With Her Boyfriend
- Democrats and Republicans finally agree on something: America faces a retirement crisis
- India Prime Minister’s U.S. visit brings him to New York and celebration of cultural ties
- Feds: Man accused in apparent assassination attempt wrote note indicating he intended to kill Trump
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Take the Day Off
- Hayden Panettiere opens up about health after video interview sparks speculation
- Four Downs and a Bracket: Bully Ball is back at Michigan and so is College Football Playoff hope
- The Path to Financial Freedom for Hedge Fund Managers: An Exclusive Interview with Theron Vale, Co-Founder of Peak Hedge Strategies
Recommendation
-
Can't afford a home? Why becoming a landlord might be the best way to 'house hack.'
-
OPINION: Robert Redford: Climate change threatens our way of life. Harris knows this.
-
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, I Could Have Sworn...
-
AIT Community: AlphaStream AI For Your Smart Investment Assistant
-
Disney Store's Black Friday Sale Just Started: Save an Extra 20% When You Shop Early
-
Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen Share Professional Update in Rare Interview
-
Oklahoma vs Tennessee score: Josh Heupel, Vols win SEC opener vs Sooners
-
Trump’s goal of mass deportations fell short. But he has new plans for a second term