Judge Rules That USDA's Approval of "Natural" Label Claims Protects Same Claims Used in Advertising

On April 8, 2019, a judge in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Civil Division, granted summary judgment to Hormel Food Corporation (Hormel) in a case filed by the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) on the grounds of standing and pre-emption, confirming the rule established in jurisdictions across the country that the approval of "natural"-related claims by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) pre-empts state-law allegations of false and misleading advertising when the manufacturer has used the terms as approved. Read more and subscribe here.

California Assembly Privacy Committee Votes in Favor of Advancing CCPA Amendments

The California Assembly's Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection (Assembly Privacy Committee), which has jurisdiction over matters related to privacy, the protection of personal information and information technology, held a committee hearing in which it voted in favor of advancing eight industry-backed bills that would amend the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), set to take effect on Jan 1, 2020. To the benefit of businesses, the bills, which now move on to the Assembly's Appropriations Committee, would clarify the text and limit the scope of the unprecedented, sweeping privacy law that grants consumers a great degree of transparency and choice with respect to their personal information, defined broadly under the act. Learn more and subscribe here.