Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the review website Yelp, alleging the company added “inaccurate and misleading language” to listings of pregnancy resource centers.
The lawsuit states that Yelp added language to the pages of pregnancy resource centers—that do not perform abortions—noting they “typically provide limited medical services and may not have licensed medical professionals onsite.”
Paxton says that is misleading and often untrue, as those centers “frequently do provide medical services with licensed medical professionals onsite.” The lawsuit accuses the company of violating Texas’ Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
“Yelp cannot mislead and deceive the public simply because the company disagrees with our state’s abortion laws,” said Paxton. “Major companies cannot abuse their platforms and influence to control consumers’ behavior, especially on sensitive health issues like pregnancy and abortion.”
Following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman issued a public statement expressing a need to “take action.”
“We need more business leaders to use their platform and influence to help ensure that reproductive rights are codified into law,” said Stoppelman.
Though the language has since been removed from the website, the lawsuit is going forward. Paxton says the company “remains liable for penalties and other relief for the duration of its unlawful behavior.”
As of publication, Yelp has not responded to a request for comment from Texas Scorecard. A spokesman told Fox News, “It’s been well-reported that crisis pregnancy centers do not offer abortion services or referrals to them, and that many provide misleading information in an attempt to steer people seeking abortion care to other options — this often starts with an online search.”
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