Texas, Yelp Sue Each Other Over Pregnancy Crisis Center Description

Facts

• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Yelp are suing each other over the online review company’s description of some crisis pregnancy centers in the state, which Yelp claimed on its website 'typically provide limited medical services and may not have licensed medical professionals onsite.'¹
• Paxton’s lawsuit, filed on Sept. 28, claims that the California-based business review giant engaged in deceptive business practices harming crisis pregnancy centers. He called Yelp’s notice about the centers not having medical professionals 'inaccurate and misleading.'²
• A day earlier, Yelp preemptively sued Paxton in San Francisco federal court, claiming that its notices about the pregnancy crisis center were true and protected free speech under the First Amendment.³
• Paxton’s lawsuit claims that Yelp added a “misleading disclaimer” on the crisis centers’ pages in August 2022 that violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices − Consumer Protection Act and Business and Commerce Code. He noted that the centers do employ professionals and that Yelp didn’t put the notice on the pages of pro-abortion clinics.⁴
• In February, 24 Republican attorneys general sent a letter to Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, requesting the company amend its notice about crisis pregnancy centers. Paxton’s lawsuit is seeking an injunction to prevent Yelp from including any misleading notices and seeks a $10K penalty per violation.¹
• Stoppelman and Yelp — who have been outspoken supporters of abortion rights in the wake of Roe v. Wade's overturning in June 2022 — amended the wording of the description in February to say that the crisis clinics don't offer abortions.⁵

Sources: ¹NBC, ²Kxan austin, ³Reuters, ⁴National Review and ⁵USA Today.

Narratives

• Right narrative, as provided by PJ Media. Yelp, just like all other big tech companies, is discriminating against businesses and services that don’t align with its viewpoint on abortion by putting false disclaimers on the pages of crisis pregnancy centers. Paxton is rightfully standing up to this clear violation of the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act and suing Yelp for its intentional deception.
• Left narrative, as provided by Jezebel. Paxton is showing the extreme measures Republicans will go to in order to ban women's right to choose, as he now resorts to suing a company over a factually correct notice. Yelp has the right under the First Amendment to put any notice it wants about a company on its website, and Republicans cannot prevent this free speech in order to push their anti-choice agenda.