FTC warns Gmail filters may bias Republican emails prompting probe

Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson has warned Alphabet Inc. that Gmail may be running partisan spam filters that disproportionately send Republican emails to users' spam folders while allowing similar Democratic messages through, a practice he said could prompt an FTC investigation and enforcement action. In a letter to Alphabet Chief Executive Sundar Pichai dated Aug. 28, 2025, Ferguson said recent reporting suggested Gmail's filtering routinely blocked messages from Republican senders but not comparable messages from Democrats.

Ferguson cited a New York Post report and complaints from conservative consultants that identical emails containing links to the Republican fundraising platform WinRed were treated as spam while messages with links to the Democratic platform ActBlue were delivered to inboxes. The FTC chair said that if Gmail's filters keep Americans from receiving speech they expect, or from donating as they choose, the practice may harm consumers and could violate the FTC Act prohibition on unfair or deceptive trade practices. He also noted in the letter that such conduct might violate state consumer protection laws.

Google pushed back, saying that Gmail's...