On June 21, Google parent Alphabet Inc. floated a plan to fix a problem it had identified in its spam filters. The solution was specifically aimed at political spam, the kind likely to pour in during an especially noisy midterm election season. Unfortunately for all of us, Google seems to have decided the problem is that it filters too much spam—and the solution is to let politicians run wild with polling updates, merch solicitations, and frantic fundraising pleas.
In a filing to the Federal Election Commission, the company proposed suspending Gmail spam filters on messages from political parties and candidates as part of a plan to “enhance user and bulk sender experience.” This pilot program, to be rolled out during the upcoming election cycle, will still allow Gmail users to manually unsubscribe from each unwanted email list. (How generous.) They’ll have to do it, however, by clicking on one thirsty form letter at a time.
The FEC proposal followed the introduction of a bill by Senate Republicans that would prevent tech companies from applying spam filters to political emails. The bill has no chance of passing while the Democrats control Congress, but Google appears to be trying to head off future attempts at regulation should that change. In a statement, company spokesman José Castañeda described the proposal as an effort to provide added transparency while preserving Google’s commitment to “a great experience for all of our users.” He also said Google doesn’t filter messages based on political affiliation.
