The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a warning to Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc., over allegations that Gmail’s spam filtering system is unfairly targeting Republican emails.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson wrote to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, stating that the agency is taking the issue of email suppression “seriously.” The move comes amid persistent complaints from Republican lawmakers, who allege that Google’s algorithms direct their campaign and fundraising messages into users’ spam folders.
Earlier this year, several Republican members of Congress pressed the FTC to probe whether Gmail’s filtering system was being used to suppress political communication ahead of the U.S. elections. Google has consistently denied the allegations, saying that Gmail’s spam filters operate neutrally and are based on user preferences and security measures.
The FTC’s intervention signals a fresh layer of scrutiny on Google’s practices as the 2026 U.S. election cycle approaches.
