Opinion ID: 4510508
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Heading: the lanham act false advertising claim

Text: PragerU’s other federal claim—false advertising under the Lanham Act—also fails. To establish a claim under 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)(1)(B), PragerU must allege a “false or misleading representation of fact” “in commercial advertising or promotion” that “misrepresents the nature, characteristics, qualities, or geographic origin of his or her or another person’s goods, services, or commercial activities.” See Southland Sod Farms v. Stover Seed Co., 108 F.3d 1134, 1139 & n.2 (9th Cir. 1997). Because none of the alleged statements are actionable under the Lanham Act, we affirm the district court’s dismissal of this claim. YouTube’s statements concerning its content moderation policies do not constitute “commercial advertising or promotion” as the Lanham Act requires. 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)(1)(B). The statements about Restricted Mode were made to explain a user tool, not for a promotional purpose to “penetrate the relevant market” of the viewing public. Fashion Boutique of Short Hills, Inc. v. Fendi USA, Inc., 314 F.3d 48, 57 (2d Cir. 2002); see also Coastal Abstract Serv., Inc. v. First Am. Title Ins. Co., 173 F.3d 725, PRAGER UNIVERSITY V. GOOGLE 15 735 (9th Cir. 1999). Not all commercial speech is promotional. Fashion Boutique of Short Hills, 314 F.3d at 57 (“the language of the [Lanham] Act cannot be stretched so broadly as to encompass all commercial speech”). PragerU did not allege any facts to overcome the commonsense conclusion that representations related to Restricted Mode, such as those in the terms of service, community guidelines, and contracts are not advertisements or a promotional campaign. First Health Grp. Corp. v. BCE Emergis Corp., 269 F.3d 800, 804 (7th Cir. 2001) (statements in a “contract” are not “commercial advertising or promotion”); Interlink Prods. Int’l, Inc. v. Cathy Trading, LLC, 2017 WL 931712, at  (D.N.J. Mar. 9, 2017) (“instruction manuals are not advertisements or promotions”). Nor was the designation of certain PragerU videos for Restricted Mode part of an advertising or promotion or a misrepresentation as to the videos. The designation and the reason for tagging videos to be unavailable in Restricted Mode are not made available to the public. See Coastal Abstract Serv., Inc., 173 F.3d at 735. Furthermore, the fact that certain PragerU videos were tagged to be unavailable under Restricted Mode does not imply any specific representation about those videos. Although a false advertising claim may be based on implied statements, those statement must be both specific and communicated as to “deceive[] a significant portion of the recipients.” William H. Morris Co. v. Grp. W, Inc., 66 F.3d 255, 258 (9th Cir. 1995). The only statement that appears on the platform is that the video is “unavailable with Restricted Mode enabled.” This notice does not have “a tendency to mislead, confuse or deceive” the public about the nature of 16 PRAGER UNIVERSITY V. GOOGLE PragerU’s videos. Am. Home Prods. Corp. v. Johnson & Johnson, 577 F.2d 160, 165 (2d Cir. 1978). YouTube’s braggadocio about its commitment to free speech constitutes opinions that are not subject to the Lanham Act. Lofty but vague statements like “everyone deserves to have a voice, and that the world is a better place when we listen, share and build community through our stories” or that YouTube believes that “people should be able to speak freely, share opinions, foster open dialogue, and that creative freedom leads to new voices, formats and possibilities” are classic, non-actionable opinions or puffery. See Newcal Indus., Inc. v. Ikon Office Sol., 513 F.3d 1038, 1053 (9th Cir. 2008). Similarly, YouTube’s statements that the platform will “help [one] grow,” “discover what works best,” and “giv[e] [one] tools, insights and best practices” for using YouTube’s products are impervious to being “quantifiable,” and thus are non-actionable “puffery.” Id. The district court correctly dismissed the Lanham Act claim. AFFIRMED.