TC Chair Warns Google Over Gmail’s Alleged Partisan Spam Filters

Washington, D.C. — Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Andrew Ferguson has warned Alphabet that Gmail’s spam filtering practices could be unfairly blocking Republican fundraising emails, raising concerns of political bias and potential regulatory action.

In a letter to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Ferguson cited a New York Post report detailing complaints from Targeted Victory, a consulting firm linked to the Republican National Committee (RNC) and Elon Musk’s X. The firm alleged Gmail flags emails containing links to the Republican fundraising platform WinRed as spam, while allowing similar messages linked to the Democratic platform ActBlue to bypass filters.

“My understanding from recent reporting is that Gmail’s spam filters routinely block messages from Republican senders but fail to block similar messages sent by Democrats,” Ferguson wrote.

He warned that if Gmail prevents users from receiving political messages or making donations, such practices could violate the FTC Act’s prohibition on unfair or deceptive trade practices and trigger an FTC investigation.

Google Responds

A Google spokesperson denied any political targeting, telling Axios that Gmail’s filters evaluate “a variety of objective signals,” such as whether recipients mark emails as spam or whether senders distribute unusually high volumes of flagged emails. The company said the same standards apply “equally to all senders, regardless of political ideology,” and added it would review the letter and engage with the FTC.

Political Context

Republican leaders have long claimed digital platforms censor or disadvantage conservative groups. In 2023, the Federal Election Commission dismissed a Republican complaint over Gmail’s filters, while a federal court threw out a similar RNC lawsuit—a case the party is reportedly seeking to revive.

The issue also comes amid heightened political scrutiny of the FTC. Earlier this month, a federal judge blocked the agency’s investigation into left-leaning watchdog Media Matters, calling it “a retaliatory act” after the group published research on antisemitic content on X.