US Supreme Court hears data-mining censorship case

Author: Deborah J. La Fetra

The United States Supreme Court heard oral argument today in ??Sorrell v. IMS Health, on the issue of whether a Vermont law that prohibits pharmacies from selling prescription data to data mining companies that then sell information to pharmaceutical companies violates the First Amendment.  Vermont was very clear that its purpose was to reduce the ability of drug companies to efficiently market new, brand-name drugs, in the hopes that doctors would be more likely to choose cheaper, generic drugs based on the reduced information.  PLF filed an amicus brief on behalf of itself and the Cato Institute in the case.  We expect a decision sometime in June.  You can download a copy of PLF's brief by clicking on the following link: Download Sorrell.