Ferguson's letter warned that if Gmail's filters are preventing Americans from receiving expected speech or donating as they see fit, it could constitute an "unfair or deceptive trade practice" under the FTC Act. This could lead to an FTC investigation and potential enforcement action. The concerns were initially brought to light by Targeted Victory, a consulting firm that has worked with the Republican National Committee (RNC).
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is setting its sights on Google, with FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson expressing concerns that Gmail's spam filters may be unfairly targeting political emails. In a recent letter to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Ferguson suggested that the company's email administration is "designed to have partisan effects." This comes after reports claimed that Gmail routinely flags emails from Republican senders as spam, including those from the fundraising platform WinRed, while not doing the same for Democratic senders.