- The US FTC Chairman has written on to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai
- Andrew Ferguson accuses Gmail of getting “partisan” spam filters
- Google stated filters “apply equally… no matter political ideology”
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson has accused Google of “partisan” Gmail spam filtering which discriminates towards sure political events.
In a letter to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai dated August 28, 2025, Ferguson claimed Republican fundraising emails are being flagged as spam, whereas Democratic emails proceed to be delivered efficiently.
Ferguson warned this might violate the FTC Act’s prohibition of unfair or misleading commerce practices, suggesting that an investigation and potential enforcement may very well be on the playing cards.
Gmail as soon as once more focused over political e mail spam filtering
“My understanding from latest reporting is that Gmail’s spam filters routinely block messages from reaching customers when these messages come from Republican senders however fail to dam comparable messages despatched by Democrats,” Ferguson summarizes.
The criticism cites a New York Submit article, which revealed that similar emails with WinRed (Republican) and ActBlue (Democratic) donation hyperlinks have been handled otherwise by Gmail.
Google has already responded to those allegations beforehand, with firm spokesperson José Castañeda stated: “E-mail filter protections are in place to maintain our customers protected.”
The filters “apply equally to all senders, no matter political ideology.”
“A client’s proper to listen to from candidates or events, together with solicitations for donations, is just not diminished as a result of that client’s political preferences might run counter to your organization’s or your staff’ political preferences,” Ferguson wrote.
This isn’t the primary time that Google has been accused of political bias in its Gmail spam filtering. In 2022, an RNC lawsuit claimed the corporate had unfairly filtered Republican emails, however the US District Court docket dismissed the case on the premise of a scarcity of proof. RNC has since revived the case.
TechRadar Professional has requested Google for an up to date commented in response to the FTC’s August 2025 letter – any response will probably be posted right here.
