A lawsuit filed by Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, against Google alleging bias against her presidential campaign has been thrown out by a federal judge on the basis that the company has no part in regulating an election.
"Google does not hold primaries, it does not select candidates, and it does not prevent anyone from running for office or voting in elections," Federal District Court Judge Stephen Wilson wrote in his decision, according to Politico. "To the extent Google 'regulates' anything, it regulates its own private speech and platform."
Wilson concluded Gabbard did not prove that the decisions made by Google are "in any way equivalent to a government regulation of an election,” and that "Google's self-regulation, even of topics that may be of public concern, does not implicate the First Amendment."
The congresswoman filed the suit in July, alleging Google's suspending her campaign's advertising account just after the first Democratic presidential debate violated her First Amendment right to free speech. Google said in a statement, at the time, the suspension was brief and automatic.
"We have automated systems that flag unusual activity on all advertiser accounts — including large spending changes — in order to prevent fraud and protect our customers," Google spokeswoman Riva Sciuto said. "In this case, our system triggered a suspension and the account was reinstated shortly thereafter. We are proud to offer ad products that help campaigns connect directly with voters, and we do so without bias toward any party or political ideology."
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