United States of America: Filed public lawsuit against Yelp for alleged dis­crim­i­na­tion against cri­sis preg­nan­cy centers (Texas v Yelp)

On 28 September 2023, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced it had filed a public lawsuit against Yelp for alleged dis­crim­i­na­tion against cri­sis preg­nan­cy centres. The State of Texas claims that Yelp, an online website and app that publishes crowd-sourced reviews about businesses, has employed deceptive trade practices by disparaging pregnancy resource centres through misleading consumer notifications on its Yelp pages. These notifications falsely claimed that these centres typically offered limited medical services and might lack licensed medical professionals on-site. Texas is seeking monetary relief exceeding USD 1,000,000, including penalties, legal fees, restitution, and related costs, alongside non-monetary injunctive measures. Additionally, the State seeks a permanent injunction to prevent Yelp from misrepresenting pregnancy resource centres in the future.