As smart as they are known to be, human beings cannot really keep themselves from making a mistake. This dynamic, in particular, has already been proven quite a few times throughout our history, with each testimony forcing us to look for a defensive cover. We will, however, solve our conundrum in the most fitting way once we bring dedicated regulatory bodies into the fold. Having a well-defined authority across each and every area was a game-changer, as it instantly concealed our many shortcomings. Now, the stated development did introduce us to a reality that we could have never imagined otherwise, but at the same time, it was all pretty short-lived. You see, the moment technology got its layered nature to take over the scene, it allowed every individual an unprecedented chance to exploit others for their own benefit. In case this didn’t sound bad enough, the whole runner soon began to materialize on such a massive scale that it expectantly overwhelmed our governing forces and sent them back to square one. After spending a long time in the wilderness, though, it seems like the regulatory contingent is finally ready to make a comeback. The same has only turned more and more evident over the recent past, and a new lawsuit against Google does a lot to solidify its traces moving forward.
According to a report from the Axios, the Republican National Committee (RNC) has officially filed a lawsuit against Google for allegedly sending “millions” of its campaign emails to users’ spam folders. If you have been keeping up, you’d know that the RNC has, on various occasions, accused Google of disproportionately putting Republican-backed political emails in spam folders when compared to messages sent by Democrats. Lo and behold, this wasn’t just any hollow accusation, as a study conducted by North Carolina State University confirmed that Google was sending RNC emails to spam folders more frequently. The controversy would reach a point where the RNC even introduced a full-fledged bill, which was designed to keep email providers from filtering political emails using algorithms. Google, in its own bid to solve the issue, rolled out a pilot program dedicated to preventing political emails from getting marked as spam. However, the newly-filed lawsuit claims that the tech giant has very much continued with its unfair practices.
Beyond the core accusation, the lawsuit also digs into how Google would send RNC’s email to the spam folder during “pivotal points” of the campaigning period, and as a result, it has largely kept the Republicans from reaching their fundraising goals in the months leading up to the midterm elections.
“This discrimination has been ongoing for about ten months — despite the RNC’s best efforts to work with Google,” the lawsuit states. “Throughout 2022, the RNC has engaged with Google month after month to obtain an explanation and a solution. But every explanation has been refuted and every solution has failed.”
Google, however, continues to deny all the allegations.
“As we have repeatedly said, we simply don’t filter emails based on political affiliation. Gmail’s spam filters reflect users’ actions,” said Google spokesperson, José Castañeda. “We provide training and guidelines to campaigns, we recently launched an FEC-approved pilot for political senders, and we continue to work to maximize email deliverability while minimizing unwanted spam.”
