Google disclosed its political filtering measures immediately after recent research indicated that the corporation was labeling Republican fundraising emails as spam disproportionately when compared to those of Democratic politicians and candidates. The research infuriated Republicans, prompting a barrage of negative remarks and an invitation to Kent Walker, Google’s senior legal officer, to explain the company’s filtering judgments in a private meeting on Capitol Hill.
Despite proposing the idea as a compromise, Google disputed the study’s conclusions, arguing that researchers analyzed a tiny sample size of emails and failed to assess whether campaigns employed the necessary bulk emailing capabilities currently available inside the service.
However, Google’s explanations failed to persuade Republicans who are failing to fulfill their online fundraising targets this election year. According to the New York Times, overall donations to Republican groups and federal campaigns declined by more than 12% in the second quarter compared to the first. The reduction is unexpected, particularly given that small-dollar contributions often climb as elections approach.
