Home » US business news » Judge dismisses RNC lawsuit accusing Google of bias in spam filters

Judge dismisses RNC lawsuit accusing Google of bias in spam filters

By Nithya Bose in US business news, posted August 25, 2023

A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit by the Republican National Committee claiming Google's email spam filters unfairly suppressed their messages.

US District Court Judge Daniel Calabretta ruled the RNC had not provided sufficient evidence against the tech giant.

Judge Calabretta also cited Section 230, a law protecting digital services from certain lawsuits regarding third-party content, as a shield for Google.

The RNC's lawsuit stemmed from a 2022 academic study that claimed Google's spam filter algorithms displayed bias against conservative candidates.

This study reignited allegations Google's technology favored liberals, leading to criticism from Republican officials.

Google introduced a pilot program to allow candidate emails to bypass spam filters in response to these concerns, which received approval from federal regulators.

However, in October, the RNC sued Google over discrimination based on political views by "throttling its email messages."

In response, Google argued its spam filter policies applied equally to all senders, regardless of political affiliation.

The judge granted the RNC permission to amend its lawsuit to establish a claim of "lack of good faith."

However, the committee has announced its intention to refile an amended complaint.

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said: “This case is not over.”

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She added that the lawsuit “represents a crucial action against Big Tech’s anti-conservative bias.”

"No plausible allegations"

Google spokesman José Castañeda said: “We welcome the Court’s finding that there are no plausible allegations that Gmail’s spam filters discriminate for political purposes.

“We will continue investing in spam-filtering technologies that protect people from unwanted emails while still allowing senders to reach the inboxes of users who want their messages.”

FEC previously dismissed a separate complaint by Republican campaign groups against Google regarding these allegations earlier this year.

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