Google Begins Testing Political Campaign Emails Skipping Gmail Spam Filters
There will also be a bigger "unsubscribe" button for impacted users.
- I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.
You might be seeing more political campaign emails soon.
Google is launching a pilot program this week to test political campaign emails bypassing the Gmail spam filters. Last month, Google was given the OK to do this by the US Federal Election Commission, meaning you might be about to see a lot more emails asking for campaign contributions or support.
The program would allow emails from political campaigns registered with the FEC to bypass Google's filters that usually tag such emails as spam.
Campaigns that comply with Google's "strict security requirements" can apply to take part in the pilot now. The test program isn't final for all Gmail users or all political campaigns.
"We expect to begin the pilot with a small number of campaigns from both parties, and will test whether these changes improve the user experience and provide more certainty for senders during this election period," José Castañeda, a Google spokesperson, told CNET in an emailed statement. "We will continue to listen and respond to feedback as the pilot progresses."
The statement added that users will have access to "a more prominent unsubscribe button."
Read more: Google Has a Plan to Get You Accurate Midterm Election Info
News of the pilot program was reported earlier by Axios.