The Supreme Court heard arguments this week on New York’s law preventing merchants from imposing surcharges when customers use credit cards. The challengers to the law claim it violates the First Amendment by criminalizing statements by merchants about the hidden costs of credit cards used by customers. (The New York Times, January 10, 2017, by Adam Liptak)
If the Supreme Court rules that businesses should be allowed to impose surcharges, some are concerned that such speech as warning labels on cigarette packages of nutrition information on food packages could come under the First Amendment umbrella. (FiveThirtyEight, January 10, 2017, by Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux)
Justin Stephen Breyer countered the argument that would allow a First Amendment defense against the New York law. He said as two other justices had previously noted that the law simply requires a single price and as such constitutes regulation of commercial conduct not speech. To see the case as a First Amendment case would force the courts into endless regulation of commercial transactions. (National Constitution Center, January 12, 2017, by NCC Staff)