A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit in which Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard accused Google of temporarily suspending her presidential campaign ads due to political bias — noting that the online search giant is not a government entity bound by the First Amendment.

District Judge Stephen Wilson said Gabbard failed to show that Google's decisions are "in any way equivalent to a government regulation of an election."


"Google does not hold primaries, it does not select candidates, and it does not prevent anyone from running for office or voting in elections," Wilson wrote in his decision dated Tuesday. "To the extent Google 'regulates' anything, it regulates its own private speech and platform."

Gabbard sued Google last summer after her campaign's advertising account was suspended for several hours following the first Democratic presidential debate. The bias allegations by the Hawaii Democrat, whose campaign picked up its first and only delegate on Super Tuesday, echoed those of Republicans in Washington who have lobbed similar accusations, as well as a conservative group that lost a similar suit against Google-owned YouTube last week.

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"Google’s self-regulation, even of topics that may be of public concern, does not implicate the First Amendment," Wilson wrote.

The Silicon Valley search giant has previously denied its content moderation decisions are politically motivated. The company declined to comment on the latest ruling, and Gabbard's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.