FTC accuses Google of having 'partisan spam filters' for Gmail

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Andrew Ferguson warned Gmail, the world's largest email service, this week that it may face a federal investigation over allegations the company intentionally suppresses messages sent by Republicans.

"My understanding from recent reporting is that Gmail's spam filters routinely block messages from reaching consumers when those messages come from Republican senders but fail to block similar messages sent by Democrats," Ferguson wrote in a letter Thursday to Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google parent company Alphabet.

Ferguson cautioned in the letter that inconsistencies in Gmail's spam filtering based on politics "could lead to an FTC investigation and potential enforcement action."

"A consumer's right to hear from candidates or parties, including solicitations for donations, is not diminished because that consumer's political preferences may run counter to your company's or your employees' political preferences," wrote the FTC chair, whom President Trump appointed in December.

Republicans have long complained that Gmail's spam filters divert GOP emails away from users' inboxes at a high rate. The company has repeatedly denied improperly applying filters.

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