Google accused by FTC chair of labeling Republican emails as junk

In a recent development, Republican Congressman Ken Buck has filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing the tech giant of suppressing conservative speech. The allegations come amidst ongoing concerns about political bias in the tech industry.

The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that Google has been discriminating against conservative voices. This comes amidst a growing chorus of complaints from Republican politicians and committees, including the Republican National Committee (RNC), who have accused Google of bias in the past.

Google, however, has denied the allegations. In a statement, the company claimed that its spam filters look at objective signals like whether people mark emails as spam or if an ad agency sends a high volume of emails often marked as spam. The company insists that these practices apply equally to all senders, regardless of political ideology.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has the potential to investigate and take enforcement action if it finds any practices inconsistent with its obligations under the FTC Act. FTC chair Andrew Ferguson has written a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai regarding these allegations, expressing concerns that Google's actions could harm consumers and violate the FTC Act's prohibition of unfair or deceptive trade practices.

The FCC chair, Brendan Carr, has also called for the 1996 provision that has given social media firms "more power over more speech than any institution in history" to be reconsidered. Section 230, which has allowed large US online platforms to flourish, is facing increased scrutiny.

The RNC attempted to amend their complaint, but it was also thrown out by the same judge last year. The judge dismissed the RNC's initial complaint due to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects online platforms from liability for their spam-filtering decisions. Google did not respond to El Reg's request for comment at the time of publication.

The Trump administration has accused Google of discriminating against Republicans' emails, and a recent letter from Republican senatorial and congressional committee chairs highlighted concerns about Big Tech suppression of conservative speech. FCC chair Brendan Carr has also emphasised that a consumer's right to hear from candidates or parties, including solicitations for donations, should not be diminished based on political preferences.

Both sides have recently threatened to introduce a bill that would sunset Section 230's Big Tech protections within two years. The lawsuit and the ongoing debate about political bias in the tech industry are likely to continue, with significant implications for free speech and the tech sector.