In WLF Victory, Second Circuit Strikes Down Privacy-Busting New York City Law

“The Constitution prevents New York City from sharing your personal information with anyone who asks—especially on behalf of a rent-seeking industry.”
—Zac Morgan, WLF Senior Litigation Counsel

Click here to read WLF’s brief.

(Washington, DC)—Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit declared a New York City disclosure law unconstitutional. The outcome was a victory for WLF, whose brief in the case emphasized that First Amendment and personal privacy interests counseled in favor of jettisoning the City’s ordinance.

The case arises from a New York City law that forces delivery services like DoorDash to give private customer information (including an email and home address) to brick-and-mortar restaurants. Typically, that’s not the case—the restaurant only gets the first name, last initial, and the customer’s food order. The City’s restaurant owners want this personally identifiable information to directly market to those diners, and the City Council compliantly passed a law to do so.

In striking down the statute, the Second Circuit confirmed that privacy-diminishing statutes must survive a rigorous First Amendment standard, even in the commercial context. Judge Michael H. Park wrote a separate concurring opinion to explain that the First Amendment can never be set aside for a rent-seeking interest. The opinions synced well with the arguments WLF advanced in its brief: that compelled commercial association is strongly disfavored under the Constitution and that rent-seeking is “woefully insufficient to carry a First Amendment burden.”