A federal judge has dismissed the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) lawsuit against Google over its Gmail service. The suit alleged that Google’s email platform was labeling GOP fundraising emails as spam at a higher rate than those across the aisle.
District Court Judge Daniel Calabretta of the Eastern District of California dismissed the case with prejudice, preventing the Republican party from bringing its lawsuit against Google back to court. A dismissal with prejudice means he can’t take the case to another court, but can still appeal Calabretta’s decision. The Verge.
In his dismissal order, Calabretta wrote that the RNC had failed to state a claim under “any statutory policy” or prove “substantial harm to Gmail users.”
“The RNC has not shown that Google’s alleged conduct violated any other law that is a necessary element of intentional interference with economic relations,” Calabretta said in the dismissal order. “Accordingly, the court hereby grants Google’s motion to dismiss with prejudice.” Calabretta had previously dismissed the case without prejudice.
Thursday’s ruling is the second case the RNC has lost over allegations of unfair filtering by Gmail. The RNC appealed to the court In the same lawsuit in 2022, it sought damages from Google for “allegedly lost donations as a result” of labeling its fundraising emails as spam. Calabretta called the lawsuit “a close case,” but ultimately ruled that the RNC “failed to make a convincing case” that Google’s spam filtering was malicious, according to court filings.
