FTC chair Andrew Ferguson notified Google CEO Sundar Pichai about a New York Post report alleging Gmail routinely flagged Republican fundraisers' emails as spam while not flagging Democratic messages. Ferguson warned that filters preventing Americans from receiving expected speech or donating could harm consumers and may violate the FTC Act's prohibition on unfair or deceptive trade practices, and that inconsistent acts could prompt an FTC investigation and enforcement action. Ferguson noted complaints from Republican senatorial and congressional committee chairs about Big Tech suppression of conservative speech. Google told Reuters that Gmail's spam filters use objective signals and apply equally to all senders. Courts previously dismissed an RNC complaint.
"If Gmail's filters keep Americans from receiving speech they expect, or donating as they see fit, the filters may harm American consumers and may violate the FTC Act's prohibition of unfair or deceptive trade practices," Ferguson wrote. "As the Chairman of the FTC, I write to inform you of your obligations under the FTC Act. Any act or practice inconsistent with these obligations could lead to an FTC investigation and potential enforcement action."
Google had not responded to El Reg's request for comment at the time of publication, but it did tell Reuters that 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. This applies equally to all senders, regardless of political ideology."
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