Kasky v. Nike: False Advertising vs. Freedom of Speech

Posted by MacDood
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Comment: Bring out your Nikes
Everybody probably remembers how in the 1990s a hot topic was sweatshop-manufactured apparel. Activists highlighted working conditions for workers producing goods for companies like Nike. Marc Kasky sued Nike in 1998 under an unusual California law that allows any private citizen to sue a corporation on behalf of the state. He claimed that Nike made misleading and/or false statements intended to avoid consumer boycotts of its products, and these statements qualify as false advertising under California law. Nike responded that its claims about how working conditions and wages have improved were protected by the First Amendment's guarantee of the freedom of speech, and that whether or not those statements were true, misleading, or even outright falsehoods is irrelevant. [Kuro5hin.org]