Win Against Cynical Use of First Amendment to Trash Warning Labels

We have been looking at what’s happening in the Bay Area to municipal regulations that would require warning labels on soda and cell phones.  Industry claims that these warning labels violate their First Amendment rights by compelling speech.  The cities contend that they are factual and uncontroversial disclosures on commercial speech, and raise only trivial First … Continue reading Win Against Cynical Use of First Amendment to Trash Warning Labels

Soda Industry Attacks Added Sugar Disclosure in Obesity Wars

Here come the First Amendment challenges to new governmental battles against “added sugars” in the war against obesity.  Last week, the FDA sought comment on its proposal to require nutritional labels to list “added sugars” – that is, sugars that have been added to the packaged food and are not naturally occurring. The goal is … Continue reading Soda Industry Attacks Added Sugar Disclosure in Obesity Wars

The Corporate Takeover of the First Amendment: All Eyes on the Bay Area

Look to the Bay Area for new battles on the commercial speech front. In these fights, you can really see how the conservative movement’s campaign against regulation is deploying the First Amendment. First, there’s the cellphone industry fight against Berkeley’s new requirement that mobile phone vendors warn against cell phone radiation. The warning reads: “If … Continue reading The Corporate Takeover of the First Amendment: All Eyes on the Bay Area