Duff Beer applied to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) for approval of proposed labels and advertisements that disclosed the alcohol content of its beer. BATF rejected the application on the grounds that the Federal Alcohol Administration Act prohibited disclosure of the alcohol content of beer on labels or in advertising. The labeling regulations also prohibited the use of descriptive terms that suggest high alcohol content, such as "strong," "full strength," or "extra strength." Duff claimed the labeling restrictions violated its First Amendment rights. The government responded that the ban was necessary to suppress the threat of "strength wars" among brewers, who, without the regulation, would seek to compete in the marketplace based on the potency of beer. Discuss the analysis courts will use in evaluating the constitutionality of this restriction.
The label disclosures constitute commercial speech. The restrictions should apply only in case of illegal or misleading activity, Government interest or if it violates Government interest. Here the activity is lawful and disclosure is not misleading. However the government has an interest in protection of health, safety and welfare of the citizens and so it is right in applying the restriction.
Duff Beer applied to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) for approval of proposed...
A federal statute and related regulations prohibited producers of beer from listing, on a product label, the alcohol content of the beer in the container on which the label appeared. The regulation existed because the U.S. government believed that if alcohol content could be disclosed on labels, certain producers of beer might begin marketing their brand as having a higher alcohol content than competing beers. The government was concerned that “strength wars” among producers could then develop, that consumers would...