Supreme Court Won’t Hear Yelp Review Removal Case

The U.S. Supreme Court won’t hear a dispute over whether Yelp Inc. can be legally required to remove certain allegedly defamatory reviews from its site.

The high court Jan. 22 denied a petition by attorney Dawn Hassell to review a ruling that the federal Communications Decency Act barred Yelp from having to delete negative reviews written by a former client. The California Supreme Court said Yelp was entitled to the immunity defense, even though Hassell only sued her client.

The denial means the Supreme Court turned down a chance to shed light on the scope of the 22-year-old law, which ...