Yelp, Texas AG Trade Lawsuits Over How Company Labels Anti-Abortion Centers

Yelp and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton have filed dueling lawsuits over the company's descriptions of anti-abortion centers that do not provide abortions or referrals to abortion providers.

After the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade, Yelp began informing users that these centers, also called crisis pregnancy centers, offer ‘limited medical services’ and ‘may not have licensed medical professionals onsite.’ However, Paxton joined a group of attorneys general in writing a letter to Yelp challenging the label, which they called deceptive.

In response, Yelp has amended the label to, ‘Crisis Pregnancy Centers do not offer abortions or referrals to abortion providers.’ Paxton himself said that this replacement is ‘accurate,’ according to Yelp's court filing.

Still, Yelp said Paxton's office recently informed the company that he intended to sue, prompting the review site to file its own preemptive lawsuit on September 27. The suit asks the court to hold that Yelp's labels were not misleading and qualify as constitutionally protected speech.

Paxton then filed an opposing lawsuit accusing Yelp of violating Texas’ Deceptive Trade Practices Act, according to a September 28 news release. In the press release, the AG’s office said the company's CEO ‘was not entitled to use the Yelp platform to deceptively disparage facilities that counsel pregnant women instead of providing abortions.’