Scoop: FTC chair warns Google not to discriminate against GOP email
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Andrew Ferguson, chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission is warning Google not to filter or suppress emails sent by Republicans over Gmail, according to a letter sent from the FTC chair to Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc.
Why it matters: The FTC isn't announcing a new investigation into Google, but FTC chair Andrew Ferguson is putting CEO Sundar Pichai on notice that he is taking allegations from Republicans about suppressing emails seriously.
- In May, congressional Republicans called on the FTC to investigate whether some of their emails are unfairly ending up in spam folders.
- Google insists that its spam filters are not politically biased.
What they are saying: "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," Ferguson said in his letter, which was obtained by Axios.
- "I write to inform you of your obligations under the FTC Act," he said. "Any act or practice inconsistent with these obligations could lead to an FTC investigation and potential enforcement action."
The other side: "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," said Jenn Crider, a Google spokesperson.
- "This applies equally to all senders, regardless of political ideology," Crider said. "We will review this letter and look forward to engaging constructively."
Zoom out: For at least a decade, Republicans have claimed that big tech companies do not treat their party — or conservative causes — fairly.
- Since the election, there has been a bit of a detente between the White House and some tech CEOs, many of whom attended President Trump's inauguration.
- But the GOP congressional campaign arms remain suspicious of Google and have alleged that Gmail is treating their emails unfairly.
Zoom In: In 2023, the Federal Election Commission investigated and ultimately dismissed, in a bipartisan decision, a bias complaint that Gmail favored Democratic candidates.
- Later that year, a federal judge also dismissed a similar complaint, suggesting that while it was a "close case" the Republican National Committee had not "sufficiently pled that Google acted in bad faith."
Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement from a Google spokesperson.
