Google gets the green light to flood US Gmail inboxes with political spam
(2022/08/11)
- Reference: 1660248071
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/08/11/google_political_spam/
- Source link:
The US Federal Election Commission on Thursday voted 4-1 to allow Google to create a program exempting qualified political email from Gmail spam filtering, despite emphatic objections from email users.
The ad giant floated [1]its proposal [PDF] after Republicans claimed Gmail's spam filtering is biased against them, and the party's lawmakers [2]introduced a bill called the Political Bias in Algorithm Sorting (BIAS) Emails Act to punish Big Tech.
Republicans seized upon [3]an academic study [PDF] released in March to support their claims that Gmail is biased against them. The authors of the study, however, [4]have insisted their study doesn't say that , and may prove the opposite. Google has challenged the study for supposed methodological flaws and a limited sample size.
[5]
Nonetheless, Republicans have managed to get Google to respond to their demands, echoing the political playbook during the Trump administration of claiming that Republican voices [6]were being silenced by content moderation.
[7]
[8]
At [9]the FEC hearing on Thursday, Google attorney Claire Rajan, from Allen & Overy, insisted Google's spam filtering algorithm is not politically biased and also denied that the company's proposed politician email spam exemption was the result of political pressure.
Rajan defended Google's [10]now-approved program by suggesting it's simply part of the company's normal product development cycle.
[11]
"The purpose of asking for the pilot program is really that Google is constantly iterating and looking at ways to improve all of its products, including Gmail," [12]said Rajan. "And it's looking to do that to enhance the user experience and to consider whether these modifications enhance or degrade the user experience."
Google might gain some insight into what email users think about the prospect of allowing political messages to bypass spam filters if it reviewed the comments submitted to the FEC in opposition to the idea.
Listen to the users
For example, among the 39 comments sent to the FEC in [13]this file [PDF] dated August 3, every single message opposes Google's proposal. The comments look largely like this, but with more capital letters:
"This is a terrible idea. DO NOT approve this proposal. I don't care what political party is impacted."
[14]Google said to be taking steps to keep political campaign emails out of Gmail spam bin
[15]Google has more reasons why it doesn't like antitrust law that affects Google
[16]Compsci guru wants 'right to be forgotten' for old email, urges Google and friends to expire, reveal crypto-keys
[17]Google Mail outage: Did you see that error message last night? Why the 'account does not exist' response is a worry
Another tranche of 85 comments about Google's proposal in [18]a file [PDF] dated August 8 is similarly unanimous in its resistance to the idea. Not one person in the selection of messages wants more political spam; every one of the comments is opposed, many vehemently.
Josh Nelson, CEO of Civic Shout, a petitioning service focused on progressive causes, condemned the FEC decision. "The FEC’s vote today to greenlight Google’s plan was misguided and deeply unfortunate," said Nelson told The Register . "Now the fight moves to Google."
"Google should be aware that if it decides to move forward with its ridiculous and wildly unpopular plan to allow political campaigns to send spam email without consequence, it will face unprecedented backlash from its users, who overwhelmingly do not want this change to happen."
[19]
In [20]a letter [PDF] to the FEC, Nelson argued that Google's proposal amounts to an in-kind contribution to Republican campaigns and rewards "disingenuous claims of Big Tech bias."
FEC staff last week issued an [21]advisory opinion [PDF] finding that Google's program would not amount to an in-kind contribution.
Nelson said 15,000 people signed a petition at Civic Shout urging the FEC to reject Google's proposal.
"Google is doing this in direct response to disingenuous Republican claims that the company is biased, in a blatant attempt to ward off legislation regulating their service," Nelson told The Register . "There's zero chance Gmail would be doing this if Republicans hadn't spent the past five months pressuring them to do so." ®
Get our [22]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/mtgdoc-22-37-A.pdf
[2] https://www.scott.senate.gov/media-center/press-releases/scott-thune-senate-republicans-introduce-political-bias-emails-act
[3] https://arxiv.org/pdf/2203.16743.pdf
[4] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/25/republicans-seized-study-proof-googles-bias-its-authors-say-it-being-misrepresented/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YvV8BOd0nRpOJYWTVgTawwAAAEo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/25/section_230_authors/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YvV8BOd0nRpOJYWTVgTawwAAAEo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YvV8BOd0nRpOJYWTVgTawwAAAEo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YcAx8FhD6E
[10] https://twitter.com/TXElectionLaw/status/1557743054437896195
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YvV8BOd0nRpOJYWTVgTawwAAAEo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://youtu.be/4YcAx8FhD6E?t=807
[13] https://www.fec.gov/files/legal/aos/2022-14/202214C_24.pdf
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/28/gmail_political_campaigns_spam/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/08/google_antitrust_legislation/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/19/dkim_encryption_expiration/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/16/google_mail_outage_responds_with/
[18] https://www.fec.gov/files/legal/aos/2022-14/202214C_28.pdf
[19] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YvV8BOd0nRpOJYWTVgTawwAAAEo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[20] https://civicshout.com/gmail-spam-comment.pdf
[21] https://www.fec.gov/files/legal/aos/2022-14/202214.pdf
[22] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
The ad giant floated [1]its proposal [PDF] after Republicans claimed Gmail's spam filtering is biased against them, and the party's lawmakers [2]introduced a bill called the Political Bias in Algorithm Sorting (BIAS) Emails Act to punish Big Tech.
Republicans seized upon [3]an academic study [PDF] released in March to support their claims that Gmail is biased against them. The authors of the study, however, [4]have insisted their study doesn't say that , and may prove the opposite. Google has challenged the study for supposed methodological flaws and a limited sample size.
[5]
Nonetheless, Republicans have managed to get Google to respond to their demands, echoing the political playbook during the Trump administration of claiming that Republican voices [6]were being silenced by content moderation.
[7]
[8]
At [9]the FEC hearing on Thursday, Google attorney Claire Rajan, from Allen & Overy, insisted Google's spam filtering algorithm is not politically biased and also denied that the company's proposed politician email spam exemption was the result of political pressure.
Rajan defended Google's [10]now-approved program by suggesting it's simply part of the company's normal product development cycle.
[11]
"The purpose of asking for the pilot program is really that Google is constantly iterating and looking at ways to improve all of its products, including Gmail," [12]said Rajan. "And it's looking to do that to enhance the user experience and to consider whether these modifications enhance or degrade the user experience."
Google might gain some insight into what email users think about the prospect of allowing political messages to bypass spam filters if it reviewed the comments submitted to the FEC in opposition to the idea.
Listen to the users
For example, among the 39 comments sent to the FEC in [13]this file [PDF] dated August 3, every single message opposes Google's proposal. The comments look largely like this, but with more capital letters:
"This is a terrible idea. DO NOT approve this proposal. I don't care what political party is impacted."
[14]Google said to be taking steps to keep political campaign emails out of Gmail spam bin
[15]Google has more reasons why it doesn't like antitrust law that affects Google
[16]Compsci guru wants 'right to be forgotten' for old email, urges Google and friends to expire, reveal crypto-keys
[17]Google Mail outage: Did you see that error message last night? Why the 'account does not exist' response is a worry
Another tranche of 85 comments about Google's proposal in [18]a file [PDF] dated August 8 is similarly unanimous in its resistance to the idea. Not one person in the selection of messages wants more political spam; every one of the comments is opposed, many vehemently.
Josh Nelson, CEO of Civic Shout, a petitioning service focused on progressive causes, condemned the FEC decision. "The FEC’s vote today to greenlight Google’s plan was misguided and deeply unfortunate," said Nelson told The Register . "Now the fight moves to Google."
"Google should be aware that if it decides to move forward with its ridiculous and wildly unpopular plan to allow political campaigns to send spam email without consequence, it will face unprecedented backlash from its users, who overwhelmingly do not want this change to happen."
[19]
In [20]a letter [PDF] to the FEC, Nelson argued that Google's proposal amounts to an in-kind contribution to Republican campaigns and rewards "disingenuous claims of Big Tech bias."
FEC staff last week issued an [21]advisory opinion [PDF] finding that Google's program would not amount to an in-kind contribution.
Nelson said 15,000 people signed a petition at Civic Shout urging the FEC to reject Google's proposal.
"Google is doing this in direct response to disingenuous Republican claims that the company is biased, in a blatant attempt to ward off legislation regulating their service," Nelson told The Register . "There's zero chance Gmail would be doing this if Republicans hadn't spent the past five months pressuring them to do so." ®
Get our [22]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/mtgdoc-22-37-A.pdf
[2] https://www.scott.senate.gov/media-center/press-releases/scott-thune-senate-republicans-introduce-political-bias-emails-act
[3] https://arxiv.org/pdf/2203.16743.pdf
[4] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/25/republicans-seized-study-proof-googles-bias-its-authors-say-it-being-misrepresented/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YvV8BOd0nRpOJYWTVgTawwAAAEo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/25/section_230_authors/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YvV8BOd0nRpOJYWTVgTawwAAAEo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YvV8BOd0nRpOJYWTVgTawwAAAEo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YcAx8FhD6E
[10] https://twitter.com/TXElectionLaw/status/1557743054437896195
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YvV8BOd0nRpOJYWTVgTawwAAAEo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://youtu.be/4YcAx8FhD6E?t=807
[13] https://www.fec.gov/files/legal/aos/2022-14/202214C_24.pdf
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/28/gmail_political_campaigns_spam/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/08/google_antitrust_legislation/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/19/dkim_encryption_expiration/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/16/google_mail_outage_responds_with/
[18] https://www.fec.gov/files/legal/aos/2022-14/202214C_28.pdf
[19] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YvV8BOd0nRpOJYWTVgTawwAAAEo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[20] https://civicshout.com/gmail-spam-comment.pdf
[21] https://www.fec.gov/files/legal/aos/2022-14/202214.pdf
[22] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Forward it on the FCC
Anonymous Coward
What is good enough to be shoved down the throats of people ... [1]Chocolate
Chocolate's better than politics!
[1] https://youtu.be/S_ngCb_ZgqQ?t=10
Re: Forward it on the FCC
steviebuk
Can we not setup rules so any of those types of mail come in automatically get forwarded to the FCC.
Flag them all as spam. Enough people that do is supposed to affect gmail filters. Whether it actually does is anyone's guess. There was never an option to see the filters in gsuite when I used to manage it.
You get what you pay for
Gene Cash
Google Mail is free, so you live at Google's whim.
I remember when Google was insisting people use "real names" and demanding birth certificates, driver's licenses, and other private info if you wanted to keep your email.
Get a real email service where you're actually the customer, and you don't have to deal with this.
I can also see Google allowing other spam through for a large enough payment.
On the other hand, it'll make it easier to figure out who to vote against.
The funny thing is I've noticed my paper spam has become a lot less since the US postal rates went up.
Re: You get what you pay for
usbac
I have a personal rule. I will not vote for any candidate that robocalls or SPAMs me. It has worked out great. I don't have to waste time standing in line to vote anymore!
Scene it all
I have moved most of my important email off Google to Proton for reasons like this. Also I use Thunderbird, which has its own spam filters independent from Google's. I would delete the gmail account entirely if I was not afraid I would lose my YouTube and other Google-based accounts too.
Forward it on the FCC
What is good enough to be shoved down the throats of people who don't want it, is good enough to be shoved down the throats who think it is acceptable.