Google defeats Republican National Committee’s spam filter lawsuit in US court

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL.O) has beat back a lawsuit by the Republican National Committee, for now, that accuses the tech giant of misdirecting the political party’s email messages to users’ spam folders.

US District Judge Daniel Calabretta in Sacramento, California, said the RNC’s claims “fail as a matter of law” in the lawsuit, which alleged Google had intentionally or negligently sent RNC fundraising emails to Gmail users’ spam folders and cost the group hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential donations.

The judge, calling the case “close,” said he would allow the RNC to file an amended complaint.

Calabretta also found that Google was protected by a provision of the Communications Decency Act — Section 230 — that provides some check against liability of technology companies based on the actions of their users.

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Google denied any political animus, saying “user feedback” drives Gmail’s filtering process and that filtering policies “apply equally to emails from all senders, whether they are politically affiliated or not.”

In its bid for dismissal, Google’s lawyers at Perkins Coie called the lawsuit “far-fetched theory” and a “dark conspiracy.”

Calabretta said the RNC’s “allegation that Google acted in ‘bad faith’ does not rise above the speculative level.”

In a statement, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said, “this case is not over” and the party intended to amend its legal complaint.

Google said in a statement it welcomed “the court’s finding that there are no plausible allegations that Gmail’s spam filters discriminate for political purposes.”

The judge said that allowing a lawsuit challenging the filtering of “mass marketing” emails to move ahead “would discourage providers from offering spam filters or significantly decrease the number of emails segregated.”

Such a legal proceeding “would place courts in the business of micromanaging content providers’ filtering systems” against a US congressional directive, Calabretta wrote.

The RNC accused Google of discriminating against it and “throttling its email messages because of the RNC’s political affiliation and views.”

Calabretta’s ruling gives the RNC a second chance to argue why Section 230 immunity should not apply in the lawsuit.

The RNC also can amend two other counts, including its claim that Google has violated California’s unfair competition law.

The case is Republican National Committee v. Google Inc, US District Court, Eastern District of California, No. 2:22-cv-01904.

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