Google receives a Gmail spam warning from FTC chief Andrew Ferguson; company says: This applies equally to all

The Chairman of the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Andrew Ferguson, has sent a warning to Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc. The agency has warned the tech giant against filtering or suppressing emails sent by the Republican Party over Gmail. In a letter to CEO Sundar Pichai, Ferguson stated he is taking allegations of email suppression seriously. This warning follows congressional Republicans' call for the FTC from earlier this year to investigate whether their emails were being unfairly directed to spam folders. Google has consistently maintained that its spam filters are not politically biased.

What Google said about Gmail’s message filtering

In a statement to Axios, Google spokesperson Jenn Crider said: “Gmail's spam filters look at a variety of objective signals – like whether people mark a particular email as spam, or if a particular ad agency is sending a high volume of emails that are often marked by people as spam. This applies equally to all senders, regardless of political ideology. We will review this letter and look forward to engaging constructively."

What FTC chief said to Google about Gmail’s spam filters

In his letter to Pichai (seen by Axios), Ferguson says: “I write due to recent reporting that suggests Alphabet's administration of Gmail is designed to have partisan effects, and accordingly to notify you that Alphabet may be engaging in unfair or deceptive acts or practices. I write to inform you of your obligations under the FTC Act. Any act or practice inconsistent with these obligations could lead to an FTC investigation and potential enforcement action.”For years, Republicans have argued that big tech companies do not treat their party or conservative causes fairly. After the election, relations between the White House and some tech executives eased somewhat, with many attending President Trump’s inauguration.Still, GOP congressional campaign committees remain wary of Google, claiming Gmail has handled their emails unfairly. In 2023, the Federal Election Commission reviewed and dismissed (through a bipartisan decision) a complaint alleging Gmail showed bias in favour of Democratic candidates.Later that year, a federal judge also dismissed a related complaint, noting it was a “close case” but that the Republican National Committee had not “sufficiently pled that Google acted in bad faith.”