Overview

• FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson wrote to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai on Aug. 28 warning that Gmail’s handling of political emails could trigger an investigation and enforcement under the FTC Act.
• Ferguson referenced reports that Republican fundraising messages are more likely to land in spam than similar Democratic emails, including tests highlighted by the New York Post involving WinRed and ActBlue links.
• Google denied political bias and said Gmail’s spam filtering relies on objective signals such as user spam reports and sender practices, adding that it will review the letter and engage with the agency.
• A federal judge dismissed the Republican National Committee’s lawsuit over similar claims, and the Federal Election Commission found no reason to believe Google made prohibited in‑kind contributions; the RNC’s appeal is pending at the 9th Circuit.
• In court filings, Google has argued that frequent user spam markings likely drove filtering of RNC emails and said it worked with the RNC on deliverability best practices.