NRCC, NRSC Call on FTC to Investigate Gmail’s Suppression of Emails to Conservative Subscribers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Chairman Richard Hudson (R-NC) and National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) alerted the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to Google’s unlawful suppression of emails to conservative subscribers on Gmail. The NRCC and NRSC Executive Directors also submitted a public comment to the FTC’s inquiry on tech censorship. The inquiry launched in February aims to “better understand how technology platforms deny or degrade users’ access to services based on the content of their speech or affiliations, and how this conduct may have violated the law.”

Google’s email service, Gmail, makes up over 75% of the American market share. Google’s suppression of NRSC and NRCC emails denies the committees millions of dollars in revenue and Republican voters the opportunity to vote and engage in public policy debates. The committees are urging the FTC to investigate Google’s practice and “take whatever enforcement action is necessary to ensure political speech is never arbitrarily silenced again.” A PDF of the letter and public comment is available HERE.

“Because every party committee also relies upon email to generate small-dollar fundraising, Google’s speech suppression also starves committees of revenue that could be spent on get-out-the-vote and voter assistance programs. The cost of Google’s suppression should therefore be calculated not only in dollars never raised, but in votes never cast,” the Chairmen wrote. “The specifics are addressed in greater detail in the accompanying public comment, but the fact that Google controls a vast majority of the American email market highlights the dire consequences if this arbitrary and discriminatory practice continues to go unchecked. A single company should not be permitted to stand between a political party and its supporters.”

In their public comment, NRCC Executive Director Micah Yousefi and NRSC Executive Director Jennifer DeCasper outlined the problems both Committees have experienced with Google suppressing conservative emails and the electoral consequences:

• Low Deliverability on Gmail: “Both Committees have experienced inexplicably low inbox placement rates when attempting to send emails to users of Google’s Gmail service. For example, in the 2024 election cycle, a mere 30 percent (30%) of NRSC emails were successfully delivered to the primary inboxes of Gmail users, with the vast majority directed into the intended recipients’ spam folders where they would never be viewed.”
• Industry-Standard Practices: “The Committees utilize a variety of industry-standard tools to constantly evaluate user engagement with their emails and maintain a high reputation for their respective domains. Notably, the Committees only send emails from their domains to individuals who have voluntarily opted to receive Committee communications. Every email sent by the Committees allows recipients to opt out of receiving future emails, and the Committees respect all opt-out requests.”
• Disenfranchising Republican Voters: “Email is now one of the primary ways that political parties and candidates communicate with their supporters. The Committees use email to update voters on important election-related information such as early voting hours, state-specific deadlines for submitting absentee ballots, and the correct precinct for casting in-person ballots. This information is essential to encouraging voter participation and increasing voter turnout, both of which are essential to a healthy democracy.”
• Lost Revenue and Suppressing Conservative Votes: “Based upon its 30% Gmail inbox placement rate, NRSC estimates that it will miss out on a cumulative $10 million of potential fundraising revenue across the 2024 and 2026 election cycles. Over the same period, NRCC estimates that it will miss out on a cumulative $7 million. That foregone revenue could have been used to fund get-out-the-vote efforts and voter education programs.”

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