FTC claims Gmail filtering Republican emails threatens “American freedoms”

FTC chairman revives GOP claims previously rejected by judge and election agency.

See full article...

 

[Dioptase]

FTC claims Gmail filtering Republican emails threatens “American freedoms”​

Ok. Easy to fix. Filtering implies some is getting through. Gmail needs to stop filtering and start blocking.

 

[mikecee]

I don’t even live in the US and occasionally get spam from republicans. It’s not even going to an address that I use anywhere.

(Strictly speaking it’s not even a real address, but Google don’t bounce mail with randomly added full stops in the address. i.e. if your address is arstechnica@gmail.com they will deliver anything addressed to ars.technica@gmail.com)

There's someone out there who keeps using xxxx.yyyy@googlemail.com but anything sent to that address gets delivered to me at xxxxyyyy@gmail.com, as I would expect given how Google maps these addresses.

Given that I get such emails as their signup confirmations for various services and their replies from their congressman, and so obviously they do not get these sometimes pretty important emails, I really don't understand why they persist in trying to use this address; it's been going on for a few years. I don't really even understand how they can use this address to send emails given that it's an alias of mine, but it doesn't seem to affect my legitimate use of xxxxyyyy@gmail.com so I've stopped worrying about it.

I'd try to let them know what the problem is but of course any emails I sent to them would just get delivered to me...

 

[Deleted member 591341]

Spam wants civil rights.

"Spam are people"
-SCOTUS, probably.
(/s)

 

[Rival Vector Plot]

In this clash of evil titans between Google and the GOP... I find myself on Google's side. What a world!

Damn. You're right. What has the world come to.

 

[hillspuck]

FTC should just level the playing field by banning political spam from all parties.

They can't. Guess who writes the laws? Political messaging is carved out by law. FTC can't override that. They did it with CAN-SPAM, with the Do Not Call registry, etc.

 

[BrewerBob]

If it filters one side of the aisle but not the other, then yes. If it filters both equally, then no. Everyone hates political calls, mail, and email.

If you report something to gmail as spam, they generally do take your word for it - unless it's theirs, of course. Spam is determined as such by the receiving party in most situations. Why should we not be able to determine this for ourselves, Republicans?

The coming midterm elections are going to be interesting, to say the least.

 

[chaos215bar2]

If one side meets the criteria for triggering the filter and the other doesn't it is possible that the problem is not the filter but the emails being filtered. Do you have any good reason to suspect that the problem is the filter?

No, they're just being overtly disingenuous.

My spam folder is filled with junk from both parties. Though, the Republican emails are notably more spammy. Nearly every one reads like some outright scam, while Democrats at least haven't fully succumbed to that style yet.

 

[Ripaille]

There's someone out there who keeps using xxxx.yyyy@googlemail.com but anything sent to that address gets delivered to me at xxxxyyyy@gmail.com, as I would expect given how Google maps these addresses.

Given that I get such emails as their signup confirmations for various services and their replies from their congressman, and so obviously they do not get these sometimes pretty important emails, I really don't understand why they persist in trying to use this address; it's been going on for a few years. I don't really even understand how they can use this address to send emails given that it's an alias of mine, but it doesn't seem to affect my legitimate use of xxxxyyyy@gmail.com so I've stopped worrying about it.

I'd try to let them know what the problem is but of course any emails I sent to them would just get delivered to me...

Do you receive their phone bill?

https://xkcd.com/1279/

 

[leonremi]

If it filters one side of the aisle but not the other, then yes. If it filters both equally, then no. Everyone hates political calls, mail, and email.

Google doesn't filter democrats or republicans. It filters bullshit.

The problem is that the current MAGA regime is made of grifters and con men.
And this is reflected in their emails.

 

[TheShark]

We will review this letter and look forward to engaging constructively," Google said.

Good luck with that. If I've learned one thing over the past few years, it's that conservatives lie incessantly and never ever act in good faith.

 

[chaos215bar2]

Confirmed. No more unsolicited mail from Nazis.

This one didn't used to work very well, strangely. Maybe the GOP was actually smart enough to figure out that constantly sending texts to remind Democrats what idiots you are isn't actually helpful?

 

[wickerbill]

The victim complex the GOP has is ridiculous, especially for how much they like to call liberals snowflakes.

 

[RickRoyLeonPrisZhoraRacha]

Not just email...

I sent STOP to GOP texts. I got the Removed text.
Then I got new ones from a different 202-893-xxxx number.

"Republicans will have NO CHOICE but to REMOVE you from our supporter list if your don't take your 2025 Voting Record Assessment..." and some URL to God know's what malware-payload-scummy "Take Knee to your god, our lord, Donald Jeffrey Trump-epstein"

I have the right to block. Fascists. Nazis. Grandstanding Old Pedos either better pay my carrier bills to get their bullshit CAPSLOCK RANTS to me, or properly fuck themselves with rusty implements.



And thanks to PiHole, I can filter for my home. (note- I am not a registered Republican. Nor Democrat. I am Independent.)

 

[Deleted member 591341]

Google doesn't filter democrats or republicans. It filters bullshit.

The problem is that the current MAGA regime is made of grifters and con men.
And this is reflected in their emails.

Don't forget to give some credit to the con women, too.

 

[GaitherBill]

To the FTC commissioner, bite my shiny metal ass.

 

[johnbramhall]

There is no reason to filter both when it's only the Republican side that won't stop violating the rules.

Quite. But the Democrats - and I’m a Democrat I suppose - now send all their spam to my Messages app - which is much harder to filter. Most infuriating, and leads me to a policy of never sending any donation to anyone anymore. I wish they’d stop this alienating bullshit and concentrate on the issues.

 

[randomcat]

GOP: "All we want is a 'fair playing field', by which we mean conditions where we automatically win everything all the time no matter what we do or say. Is that so much to ask?"

 

[pagh]

"Hearing from candidates and receiving information and messages from political parties is key to exercising fundamental American freedoms and our First Amendment rights," Ferguson's letter said. "Moreover, consumers expect that they will have the opportunity to hear from their own chosen candidates or political party. A consumer's right to hear from candidates or parties, including solicitations for donations, is not diminished because that consumer's political preferences may run counter to your company's or your employees' political preferences."

That's some grade A Madison Avenue BS right there. I doubt there's a single American alive who wants more spam clogging up their inbox.

The First Amendment guarantees political candidates, parties, and everyone else the right to publish whatever they like (with a few very narrow exceptions) free from government censorship. It gives everyone the right to seek out the information they want or need, again free from government interference. It does not give anyone the right to shove their message in unwilling listeners' faces.

 

[LesMilpool____]

FTC claims Gmail filtering Republican emails threatens “American freedoms”

Less of a filtering, more of a cleansing

 

[LesMilpool____]

GOP: "All we want is a 'fair playing field', by which we mean conditions where we automatically win everything all the time no matter what we do or say. Is that so much to ask?"

For all their self-perceived alpha-masculinity, no one whines quite like the GOP

 

[Deleted member 388703]

If one side meets the criteria for triggering the filter and the other doesn't it is possible that the problem is not the filter but the emails being filtered. Do you have any good reason to suspect that the problem is the filter?

https://www.techdirt.com/2023/02/03...wn-email-practices-rather-than-blaming-gmail/

As the RNC admits, the A/B test “suggests that Google is not suppressing RNC emails based on their communicative content,” i.e., based on the political positions expressed by the RNC. Id. (emphasis added). That is obviously correct, and it is devastating to the plausibility of the RNC’s discrimination theory. After all, if Google is not suppressing the RNC’s emails based on the emails’ “communicative content,” then it is hard to see how the RNC (or this Court) could reasonably infer that Google is discriminating against the RNC based on its “political affiliation” or its political “views.”

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-camp...ading-subject-lines-spam-like-senders-1664579

Dozens of emails from Trump's PAC feign direct exchanges with the recipients, using senders such as "Donald J. Trump, me," "You, Trump," or "me, Donald Trump, Jr."

Other fundraising emails were crafted to appear as forwarded messages, without mentioning Trump. One template has "fwd: yours truly" as the sender and "fwd: fwd: me, you" as the subject line. Another is sent by "automatic email fwd," with the subject line "It looks like you MISSED our email."

Several Trump campaign emails soliciting donations also put their sender down as "This must be a mistake."

One email sent by the re-election campaign of Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) lists its sender as "Reservation Confirmation," with the subject line "FLIGHT NUMBER: 8341." The message itself states the former president has "invited you to join him for a private dinner at Mar-a-Lago!"

A click to the "Confirm your interest here" button redirects the recipient to a fundraiser offering a chance to win the dinner with Trump. Donations will benefit Blackburn's campaign, in addition to that of Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY).

Some emails from the team of Representative Steve Scalise (R-LA) cryptically appear as coming from a sender simply named "Steve," with the subject line "hey." Scalise's fundraising emails have also put down "URGENT RESPONSE REQUIRED" as senders.

Hmm... such a total mystery why Republican spam might be getting marked as spam

 

[arsisloam]

How about the FCC doing their job and mandating that unsubscribe requests be honored? I keep unsubscribing and replying STOP, but they just keep sending me bullshit.

 

[Cat_Herder]

The easy solution: I would like all political e-mail, regardless of party affiliation, deposited in my spam folder.

 

[MailDeadDrop]

Setting aside the political hay that the RNC would make about it, is there any reason why RNC would have standing to object if Google explicitly refused to deliver RNC email? The contract, if any, is between Google and the mailbox owners. Google is not a utility -- they don't have to work with all comers.

Edit: a much more amusing outcome would be if Google delivered the emails, but first re-wrote the WinRed links to point instead to ActBlue...

 

[wheelmccoy]

No, they're just being overtly disingenuous.

They're preparing for election results they won't like. They can use this, along with many other strategies, to cry foul.

 

[SpectrumCyclist]

I don't read any political emails anymore because I am never sure if they and their links are authentic. Any political giving I do now is by an old fashioned check in an envelope with a stamp. That serves three purposes. First, I am as certain as I can be the money will get to where I want it to go. Second, it makes me put some effort into making the contribution, requiring me to think whether I really want to do this and give that amount. Third, I am tired of all the email and SMS spam I get from Democratic candidates who have purchased my info from ActBlue. It is like whack-a-mole, but since the last election, I block every email address and phone number with a political message. I gave a lot of money to Kamala last year and I am furious that she stuck the DNC with a $20,000,000 debt. I will not pay for such malfeasance.

 

[Missing Minute]

https://www.techdirt.com/2023/02/03...wn-email-practices-rather-than-blaming-gmail/

As the RNC admits, the A/B test “suggests that Google is not suppressing RNC emails based on their communicative content,” i.e., based on the political positions expressed by the RNC. Id. (emphasis added). That is obviously correct, and it is devastating to the plausibility of the RNC’s discrimination theory. After all, if Google is not suppressing the RNC’s emails based on the emails’ “communicative content,” then it is hard to see how the RNC (or this Court) could reasonably infer that Google is discriminating against the RNC based on its “political affiliation” or its political “views.”

Reality has an inherent liberal bias, can't trust it not to make up facts to support it's agenda, that's clearly not accurate.

 

[graylshaped]

I missed the bit where the right to Annoy was one of the inalienable ones.

 

[DJ Farkus]

If someone could locate the personal phone number of these spammers it would great fun to collectively all send them "personal messages".
Not illegal spam, just thousands of personal messages like: "Hello, dirtbag. How does useless phone traffic taste?"

(Edit) or perhaps maintain culpable deniability with messages like "Hi Sheila! Are we on for lunch today?" ... oh gee, I must've sent that to the wrong number

 

[graylshaped]

If someone could locate the personal phone number of these spammers it would great fun to collectively all send them "personal messages".
Not illegal spam, just thousands of personal messages like: "Hello, dirtbag. How does useless phone traffic taste?"

The spammer would say "Sweet! A valid phone number."

 

[Danrarbc]

Makes sense - the GOP's leader certainly doesn't take no for an answer.

 

[llewyn]

In the interests of equity, block 'em all!

 

[DJ Farkus]

The spammer would say "Sweet! A valid phone number."

Lol, true, but if a spammer wants to spend the effort to collect "valid" targets from his personal phone, they're welcome to it. Dark web is so much faster.

 

[Super King]

Google said in response that the RNC never participated in a pilot program that let political emails bypass the Gmail spam filter.

Um, maybe instead of crying like delicate snowflakes they could have gotten exactly what they wanted... But then they would have to find something else to be a victim about.
Boy, for a party pushing for gender roles and misogyny, they sure do get weepy. Can't be a man if you drink with a straw, but crying like a spoiled toddler is A-OK. I thought it was supposed to be the blue haired libs who were emotional victims

 

[SixDegrees]

Hilariously, DOGE had to send their initial "pulse check" emails to government workers twice - the first one got caught in the government spam filters because it read like it was written by a Nigerian prince.

 

[dorukayhan]

Of course the much less generous interpretation is that Republicans are too fucking stupid to avoid the spam filters while the Democrats aren't. I mean, how embarrassing for Republicans to lose a battle of wits to Democrats.

IIRC at one point Ars reported that Republican emails were getting hung up in spam filters not even because the filters were doing anything remotely goofy but because they fumbled their SPF

 

[Tubocass]

I'm doing my part by marking ALL political emails as spam.

 

[DarthSlack]

I don't know of any Democrats laughing at the moment...

That's kinda the point. The current crop of Democrats isn't anything to celebrate. But at least they're smart enough to not get their email caught in Google's spam traps.

 

[Meettitan]

STOP ALL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENCE, FUCK! STOP CALLING ME! STOP EMAILING ME! IF I HAVE MONEY BURNING A HOLE IN MY POCKET I WILL LET YOU KNOW IF AND WHEN I'M READY TO DONATE.

Unless you're a local representative I honestly do not want you directly messaging me in any way, shape, or form.