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Group sues Metro over rejection of anti-animal testing ads
TRANSPORTATION
Group sues Metro over rejection of anti-animal testing ads
The White Coat Waste Project is also calling for a judge to rule that Metro’s advertising policy unconstitutional
By Justin George
June 27, 2023 at 6:51 p.m. EDT
Passengers climb the steps at the Metro Center station in D.C. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)
A group that opposes testing on animals sued Metro on Tuesday, challenging the transit system’s rejection of three ads as well as its advertising policy. ... The White Coat Waste Project is a nonprofit based in Haymarket, Va., that says it is opposed to government’s “wasteful spending on animal experiments,” according to the group’s website. The group sought to place ads onboard buses, trains or inside Metro stations in April, but three of its four proposed ads were denied on the basis of a Metro policy that prohibits ads intended to influence the public on issues where “there are varying opinions,” according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington. ... Metro’s policy also restricts ads that support or oppose a position that does not provide direct “commercial benefit” to the advertiser, the lawsuit said.
The group named Metro Chief Infrastructure Officer Andy Off as a co-defendant. Off was serving as interim general manager when Metro made the denials in May 2022. ... Metro said it could not comment on pending litigation. ... Megan Andersen, vice president of the White Coat Waste Project, said in a statement the group has faced refusals from other transit agencies and successfully challenged their policies.
Metro’s advertising guidelines, last updated in 2015, include 14 guidelines such as prohibiting ads that are false or misleading, as well as those with false testimonials. The policy states that issues trying to influence the public are prohibited, as are any ads that attempt to influence public policy.
In its lawsuit, the White Coat Waste Project said Metro doesn’t have a “legitimate” or compelling interest in prohibiting advertising designed to influence the public, and that transit officials violated the First and Fifth amendments when it rejected three advertising pitches. The group is asking a judge to declare Metro’s policy unconstitutional and to require the transit agency to accept its ads.
{snip}
By Justin George
Justin George is a reporter covering national transit and Metro, the D.C.-area public transportation system, for The Washington Post. He previously covered criminal justice for the Marshall Project and the Baltimore Sun. Twitter https://twitter.com/justingeorge
Group sues Metro over rejection of anti-animal testing ads
The White Coat Waste Project is also calling for a judge to rule that Metro’s advertising policy unconstitutional
By Justin George
June 27, 2023 at 6:51 p.m. EDT
Passengers climb the steps at the Metro Center station in D.C. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)
A group that opposes testing on animals sued Metro on Tuesday, challenging the transit system’s rejection of three ads as well as its advertising policy. ... The White Coat Waste Project is a nonprofit based in Haymarket, Va., that says it is opposed to government’s “wasteful spending on animal experiments,” according to the group’s website. The group sought to place ads onboard buses, trains or inside Metro stations in April, but three of its four proposed ads were denied on the basis of a Metro policy that prohibits ads intended to influence the public on issues where “there are varying opinions,” according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington. ... Metro’s policy also restricts ads that support or oppose a position that does not provide direct “commercial benefit” to the advertiser, the lawsuit said.
The group named Metro Chief Infrastructure Officer Andy Off as a co-defendant. Off was serving as interim general manager when Metro made the denials in May 2022. ... Metro said it could not comment on pending litigation. ... Megan Andersen, vice president of the White Coat Waste Project, said in a statement the group has faced refusals from other transit agencies and successfully challenged their policies.
Metro’s advertising guidelines, last updated in 2015, include 14 guidelines such as prohibiting ads that are false or misleading, as well as those with false testimonials. The policy states that issues trying to influence the public are prohibited, as are any ads that attempt to influence public policy.
In its lawsuit, the White Coat Waste Project said Metro doesn’t have a “legitimate” or compelling interest in prohibiting advertising designed to influence the public, and that transit officials violated the First and Fifth amendments when it rejected three advertising pitches. The group is asking a judge to declare Metro’s policy unconstitutional and to require the transit agency to accept its ads.
{snip}
By Justin George
Justin George is a reporter covering national transit and Metro, the D.C.-area public transportation system, for The Washington Post. He previously covered criminal justice for the Marshall Project and the Baltimore Sun. Twitter https://twitter.com/justingeorge