Tulsi Gabbard sues Google over post-debate ad suspension

[brooklynite]

Politico

SAN FRANCISCO — Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s campaign is suing Google in a California court, charging her free speech was violated when the tech giant blocked her ad account in the hours following the first Democratic presidential debate.

Gabbard, a Democrat from Hawaii who has called for the breakup of big tech companies, was among the top search topics on Google during and after the debate. Gabbard’s campaign decided after the debate that “now is the time we can get our message out there by buying search ads,’’ said attorney Brian Dunne, who is representing Gabbard. But “just as her Google traffic was spiking, her Google ad account was taken offline,’’ he said.

Google’s told the campaign the account was suspended “for violations of billing practices” and advertising practices, Dunne said. But when questioned about the validity of the suspension — Dunne says there was no change of banks or financial issue with the campaign’s account — the company then informed the campaign there was “a violation of the terms of service.’’

In a statement, a Google spokeswoman said the account suspension was brief and triggered automatically.

[Devil Child]

1. Good, Google is out of control n/t

[msongs]

2. so she thinks google is bad yet she is buying ads on google lol nt

[LiberalLovinLug]

4. LOL

Yeah, its like people who are against handing out huge tax giveaways to oil companies, instead of new investments in alternative energy using the roads to get around, and burning oil to do it! Taking a bus to a protest is so hypocritical AmIRight? A lame excuse to say that this is our world now, and our transportation system, and we have to use the roads in the present, while we work to change things in the future. Like Al Gore actually using a plane to get to some lame international conference on global warming! What a loser eh? Or Gabbard using the primary monopolized information platform to get her message out....about curtailing the power of tech companies information platforms and privacy issues. AmIRight?

[Hortensis]

3. Account auto-suspended and quickly reinstated - VIP treatment,

$50M lawsuit anyway.

$20 says her campaign violated the terms of service.

[LiberalLovinLug]

5. Must be a total coincidence

"Gabbard has been an open critic of the tech industry. She rolled out her candidacy, in part, by warning against “big tech companies who take away our civil liberties and freedoms in the name of national security and corporate greed.” She has also voiced support for net neutrality, considering it a “cornerstone of our democracy.”

[wyldwolf]

6. when tech companies suspend accounts, they often struggle to explain why.

My paypal account was suspended and they gave three different reasons over the course of the month before finally settling on a fourth one.

I have a friend who's Amazon account was suspended and they NEVER told her why. After she repeatedly called them, it was finally reinstated.

And we've all heard about Facebook deleting images of things like breast cancer.

[George II]

7. Careful, my "paypal" account has been suspended several times, but never by the REAL paypal....

...it's a scam looking for personal information.

Despite ignoring pleas to "respond now" by clicking a link, my paypal is still alive and well.

[wyldwolf]

8. It was actually canceled

They finally said because me and my wife both had separate PayPal accounts it was a violation of their terms of service, but not before giving a few really bizarre reasons.

[RandySF]

9. .