San Francisco Soda Ad Sugar Warning Blocked

A San Francisco ordinance that would require sugar warnings in soda ads likely would violate the free speech rights of beverage and advertising groups, the Ninth Circuit said.

The groups will likely prevail on their argument that the ordinance would infringe their First Amendment rights by chilling protected commercial speech, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said Jan 31.

The full court affirmed a panel decision that had blocked the warning last year.

Food and beverage makers are increasingly raising their free speech rights to challenge what regulators and consumers tell them they must, or can’t, say ...