WLF Files Amicus Brief Urging Ninth Circuit to Strike San Francisco SSB Warning Law

The Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) has filed an amicus brief with
the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals arguing the court should enjoin a San
Francisco statute requiring advertisements of sugar-sweetened beverages
(SSBs) to disclose health warnings related to their consumption. Am.
Beverage Assoc. v. City of San Francisco, Nos. 16-16072 and 16-16073
(9th Cir., amicus brief filed August 4, 2016). The brief argues that the
government cannot compel speech unless the speech is designed to dispel
deception, and San Francisco has failed to show the warning prevents
consumer deception.

“The First Amendment protects not only the right to speak but also the
right not to speak,” WLF Chief Counsel Richard Samp said in an August
4, 2016, press release. “In the absence of evidence that advertisements for sugar-sweetened beverages are deceiving consumers, soft drink
manufacturers should not be required to include ominous health warnings
in their ads.”

Issue 613