A California appeals court ruled that Yelp had the standing to uphold its users’ First Amendment rights but found that a reviewer’s identity could not be protected since the reviewer’s online statements were defamatory. In 2016 an accountant complained that a review defamed him and his business and asked Yelp to identify the reviewer. Yelp asked a trial court to block the subpoena claiming it would infringe on the First Amendment right to anonymous speech. (Electronic Frontier Foundation, November 16, 2017, by Aaron Mackey)
Yelp argued that a review of the accountant’s tax return work was opinion, but the accountant said the opinions imply damaging facts which he considered false. (Metropolitan News-Enterprise, November 14, 2017, by a MetNews Staff Writer)