A federal judge has rejected an attempt to block Seattle’s new yellow pages opt-out program, after the city passed one of the toughest laws in the country targeting yellow pages, and phone book companies fought back.
Seattle unveiled its opt-out registry last week. The same day, Dex One – the city’s largest yellow pages distributor – filed a second motion to temporarily halt the program as part of an ongoing lawsuit. The complaint alleges Seattle’s ordinance violates the First Amendment.
On Sunday, U.S. District Court Judge James Robart rejected the motions. Robart wrote:
Because Plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits of their First Amendment claim, because any First Amendment impact on the public is limited, and because the City and its residents have competing public interests in privacy and waste reduction, the court finds the Plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate that a preliminary injunction is in the public interest.”