The Terrible News GMail Users Just Got
GMail users just got some bad news. Google is changing its spam filter settings to allow any and all political campaign emails through.
Love them or hate them, we all rely on built-in spam filters to help protect our inboxes from a bombardment of unnecessary emails. Filters built upon ever-changing algorithms will never be perfect. But the reality of bulk emailing these days means that, without filters, we would get inundated with spam. Now, all that may change for GMail users as Google announced news of a new pilot program.
GMail is one of the most popular email services these days. Millions of users love the simplified and streamlined platform to accomplish most tasks within one system. The algorithm Google uses to filter spam is often the source of user complaints. Many bulk emails make their way past filters, with desired emails often lost forever in the spam folder.
Many groups and organizations use the bulk email feature to send out mass mailings, make announcements, and conduct fundraising efforts. Political candidates and campaigns also take advantage of this method. Just like other bulk emails, GMail runs political emails through spam filters. And often, those emails get shipped right off to the spam folder.
Most of us wouldn’t even notice we weren’t receiving campaign emails unless we signed up for a specific list that we suddenly stopped receiving. But a recent study from North Carolina State University discovered that GMail was disproportionately flagging Republican campaign emails as spam. When news of the study results got out, Republicans expressed outrage.
To the Republican National Committee, it seemed to be the cause of their extreme drop in donations. The decline in donations was unusual, to begin with, as there is typically an uptick in donations as election season draws closer. When Republican leadership learned that GMail was flagging 68% of their party’s emails, compared with only 8% on the Democratic side, they demanded action.
Google’s response was to design a pilot program for political parties and campaigns. Interested parties would have to apply to be part of the program that would exclude their bulk emails from spam filtering. Ultimately, GMail subscribers could end up seeing many more campaign and donation request emails flooding their inboxes.
To ensure their pilot program did not break any federal election laws, Google ran their plan by the FEC. They just received news this week that their pilot program for GMail got approved – just in time for the general elections in a few months. While this was welcome news for the Republican side of the aisle, not everyone was as pleased.
A representative of the Democratic National Committee expressed extreme frustration with the decisions by both Google and the FEC. They claim that the GMail pilot program will provide Republicans with an undue advantage going into the elections. Additionally, many are concerned that the Republican candidates will use “click-bait” tactics when sending their bulk campaign emails.
For GMail users, this news likely means more time hitting the delete button, regardless of which side you support. As with all pilot programs, things may change in the future. In the meantime, when in doubt, go ahead and click the unsubscribe button.
