A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit from the Republican National Committee (RNC) against Google, which accused Gmail of unfairly labeling GOP fundraising emails as spam. The RNC’s legal action claimed that Gmail’s spam filters were biased against their emails compared to those from Democratic counterparts. This lawsuit was part of the RNC’s effort to address perceived inequities in email filtering on the platform.
The ruling came from District Court Judge Daniel Calabretta of the Eastern California District Court, who dismissed the case with prejudice. This means that the RNC cannot bring the same case before another court. However, they are still able to appeal Calabretta’s decision if they choose to do so.
Federal Judge Dismisses RNC Lawsuit Against Google Over Gmail Spam Filters
In his order, Judge Calabretta indicated that the RNC had failed to substantiate their claims with adequate legal grounds or evidence of significant harm to Gmail users. The judge noted that the RNC did not demonstrate that Google’s spam filtering actions breached any laws or constituted deliberate economic interference.
This dismissal represents the second legal defeat for the RNC regarding similar claims against Gmail. Previously, in 2022, the RNC had filed another lawsuit with the same court, alleging financial losses due to their emails being classified as spam. Despite finding the case challenging, Judge Calabretta ruled that the RNC had not convincingly proven that Google’s spam filtering was conducted in bad faith.
The case’s dismissal with prejudice follows an earlier dismissal without prejudice, which allowed the possibility of re-filing. With this latest ruling, the RNC’s opportunity to revisit their allegations in court is effectively closed unless they successfully appeal Calabretta’s decision.
