Article snippet: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, the long-shot presidential candidate from Hawaii, said in a federal lawsuit that Google infringed on her free speech when it briefly suspended her campaign’s advertising account after the first Democratic debate in June. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in a federal court in Los Angeles, is believed to be the first time a presidential candidate has sued a major technology firm. In a twist that reflects Gabbard’s unorthodox political views, the claim that her speech was stifled by Google is similar to complaints made over the last year in Republican circles. Few Democrats have raised similar concerns. Big tech companies like Google are getting increasing scrutiny by lawmakers and regulators around the world for a wide variety of issues, including their influence on political debate, their handling of consumer data and the aggressive way they compete with smaller companies. A day before the Gabbard lawsuit was filed, Facebook said the Federal Trade Commission had opened a formal antitrust investigation into its business practices. Earlier in the day, the FTC announced that Facebook was fined a record $5 billion for deceiving users about their ability to control the privacy of their personal data. Tulsi Now Inc., the campaign committee for Gabbard, said Google suspended the campaign’s advertising account for six hours on June 27-28, obstructing its ability to raise money and spread her message to potential voters. After the first Democratic debate, G... Link to the full article to read more