Bloomberg News
@Bloomberg-News·2.8M subscribers·40.1K videos
Google Is Going to Let Politicians Spam Your Inbox
Posted
July 5, 2022
Views
1,794
Likes
40
Comments
3
Engagement
2.40%
July 5, 2022
1,794
40
3
2.40%
Every word spoken in this episode is indexed. Type any phrase to jump straight to the moment it was said.
Type any word or phrase that may have been spoken. Click a result to seek the player to that exact moment.
Try a name, a topic, or a quoted line
See what was published immediately before and after this episode.
0:36Now PlayingOn 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.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Subscribe to our newest channel Quicktake Explained
Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world.
To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app.
Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake
Connect with us on…
Breaking News on YouTube
Sentinel Indexing in Progress
Metadata and chapters are available. Claim extraction for this episode is pending.
All video content is delivered via YouTube embedded players in accordance with the YouTube Terms of Service. Sentinel provides research tools that promote discovery and accountability across political media.
