The Local Search Association filed suit today against the City and County of San Francisco, the Board of Supervisors, and Mayor Edwin Lee asking the U.S. District Court to overturn the city's recently passed opt-in ordinance. The suit claims that the…
We just learned that San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee has signed into law the San Francisco opt-in ordinance. Lee's signature was anticipated since the ordinance passed the city's Board of Supervisors by an overwhelming margin. The Yellow Pages industry has…
Representatives and their legal counsel from the Association of Directory Publishers, Valley Yellow Pages, At&t, and the Local Search Association held a conference call to plan their continued opposition to San Francisco's opt-in ordinance. If more articles like this from…
Yesterday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed the opt-in ordinance that the Yellow Pages industry had vigorously opposed. Immediately following the vote, the Local Search Association (formerly the Yellow Pages Association) called on San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee to veto the ordinance. The ordinance passed 10-1 but formal passage must wait until a routine “second reading” next week, which is likely to be a rubber stamp.
The ordinance is the first opt-in (where consumers must proactively choose to receive a print directory) measure to pass in the United States. While the industry sees opt-out (where consumers can choose not to receive a book) as a serious challenge, it has viewed opt-in as a lethal threat. Opt-in could decimate reach, increase costs and drive secondary operators out of business.
Proponents argue that in an era of declining usage, ubiquitous distribution is incredibly wasteful. if someone wants a book, no one is stopping him or her from requesting one under an opt-in plan.
The San Francisco ordinance is positioned as a “three-year pilot program” that will commence in 2012. The ordinance was proposed based on environmental concerns as well as concerns over the cost of disposing of unwanted phone books.
The Yellow Pages industry has failed to win a preliminary injunction or restraining order from a U.S. District Court in Seattle. This mean the Seattle opt-out ordinance can move forward as the industry pursues its lawsuit seeking to have the ordinance ruled unconstitutional. This decision…
In a move that can be seen as a victory for the Yellow Pages industry, the San Francisco board of supervisors decided to delay a vote on its contentious Yellow Pages opt-in ordinance, seeking a study from the city economist…
The San Francisco board of supervisors (the city council, essentially) today will consider a phone book opt-in ordinance that directory publishers believe will be devastating to their business. The measure, supported by announced mayoral candidate David Chiu, has drawn urgent…
For the past few years, the U.S. Yellow Pages industry has been playing a nationwide version of the arcade game "whack a mole" -- beating down one opt-in or opt-out legislative initiative after another with a metaphoric sledgehammer. For the…
