Tulsi Gabbard is suing Google for 50 MILLION!

by The Right Scoop

Tulsi Gabbard is ticked over a six-hour account suspension by Google during the time when she was the most searched candidate after the first Democratic debate.

And she’s suing them for 50 million:

NY TIMES – Representative Tulsi Gabbard, the long-shot presidential candidate from Hawaii, said in a federal lawsuit that Google infringed on her free speech when it briefly suspended her campaign’s advertising account after the first Democratic debate in June.

The lawsuit, filed on Thursday in a federal court in Los Angeles, is believed to be the first time a presidential candidate has sued a major technology firm.

Tulsi Now Inc., the campaign committee for Ms. Gabbard, said Google suspended the campaign’s advertising account for six hours on June 27 and June 28, obstructing its ability to raise money and spread her message to potential voters.

After the first Democratic debate, Ms. Gabbard was briefly the most searched-for candidate on Google. Her campaign wanted to capitalize on the attention she was receiving by buying ads that would have placed its website at the top of search results for her name.

The lawsuit also said the Gabbard campaign believed its emails were being placed in spam folders on Gmail at “a disproportionately high rate” when compared with emails from other Democratic candidates.

“Google’s arbitrary and capricious treatment of Gabbard’s campaign should raise concerns for policymakers everywhere about the company’s ability to use its dominance to impact political discourse, in a way that interferes with the upcoming 2020 presidential election,” the lawsuit said.

I honestly can’t blame her for feeling violated. At the single moment when she had the best chance to get her message out to potential voters, Google shut her ad account down for six hours. But while it may have been a crucial six hours, it was just six hours and I think it will be an uphill battle to try and win this lawsuit, especially since her account was reinstated.

Gabbard isn’t just seeking 50 million, she’s also seeking an injunction to prevent it from happening again.

Google explains the suspension came from their automated system that’s meant to protect account holders:

Google has automated systems that flag unusual activity on advertiser accounts — including large spending changes — to prevent fraud, said Jose Castaneda, a spokesman for the company.

“In this case, our system triggered a suspension and the account was reinstated shortly thereafter,” he said. “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.”

No bias? Yeah, right.

Regardless of the explanation, which sounds legit, Google needs to be more flexible for big accounts, like candidates running for office. Otherwise this won’t be the last time they find themselves in court defending themselves against accusations of fraud and bias.

UPDATE:


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