FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson Accuses Google of Partisan Bias in Gmail’s Spam Filters

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair, appointed under President Trump, has raised concerns about potential partisan bias in Alphabet’s management of Gmail. In a letter to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson cited a report by the New York Post detailing allegations from Targeted Victory—a consultancy and PR firm previously associated with the Republican National Committee and Elon Musk’s X—that Gmail marks emails linking to the Republican fundraising platform WinRed as spam, while similarly linked Democratic emails are not.

Ferguson stated that reports suggest Gmail’s spam filters unfairly prevent messages from reaching consumers when they originate from Republican senders, but fail to block similar messages sent by Democrats. He cautioned Alphabet, stating that if these filters continue to impede speech or donations, they could potentially violate the FTC Act’s prohibition of deceptive trade practices and lead to an FTC investigation and enforcement action.

In response, a Google spokesperson told Axios that Gmail’s spam filters evaluate various objective indicators, such as whether users mark specific emails as spam or if a particular ad agency sends high volumes of emails often marked as spam. The company affirmed it applies this approach impartially to all senders, regardless of political ideology.

The spokesperson added that they would review the letter and look forward to constructive dialogue. This controversy comes amid recurring conservative claims of censorship or unfair treatment by digital platforms, including Gmail. Previously, in 2023, the Federal Election Commission dismissed a complaint from Republicans regarding Gmail’s spam filters, and a federal court also dismissed an RNC lawsuit with similar accusations. Notably, the RNC appears to have resuscitated that lawsuit recently.

In a separate development earlier this month, a federal judge barred the FTC’s investigation into the left-leaning group Media Matters over its research into antisemitic content on X, deeming the investigation a “retaliatory act.”