Earlier this month, Google sent a request (PDF) to the Federal Election Commission asking for input on a possible launch of a pilot program that would allow political committees to bypass spam filters and deliver political emails to Gmail users' inboxes.
During a public comment period that is still ongoing, most people commenting have expressed opposition for a variety of reasons that they hope the FEC will consider.
A commenter named Katie H. wrote:
"Please don't allow Google to open Pandora's Box by allowing campaign/political emails to bypass spam filters."
Of the 48 comments submitted (PDF) as of July 11, only two commenters expressed support for Google's pilot program, which seeks to deliver more unsolicited political emails to Gmail users instead of marking them as spam.
Other commentators opposed the program, raising a number of concerns, including the potential for the policy to degrade user experience, introduce security risks, or even potentially influence future elections.
This is my letter to the FEC about Google's request for an opinion about their plan to let political email bypass spam filtering. You too can submit a comment by email to [email protected] But do it now because commenting closes on Monday. #Elections2022 # Google #elections #gmail pic.twitter.com/xKYg0vLj49
— Anne P. Mitchell Esq (@annepmitchell) July 9, 2022
Business Insider reported that the public comment period ends on Saturday, July 16, and will be longer than previously announced since the first (final) comment deadline was July 11. This means there is still time for most Gmail users to write their opinion.
