Bill Overview
Title: Political BIAS Emails Act of 2022
Description: This bill restricts email providers from applying filtering algorithms that label political campaign messages as spam and requires providers to publicly report on their email delivery practices.
Sponsors: Sen. Thune, John [R-SD]
Target Audience
Population: People who use email services for receiving communications
Estimated Size: 307000000
- Email users receive various emails including those from political campaigns. Limiting spam filters could affect inbox content.
- Political groups and campaign teams rely on email for communication and outreach. This legislation directly affects how their emails are classified.
- This bill could lead to changes in the way email providers such as Gmail, Yahoo, etc., handle political emails across the globe.
- The Bill mandates public reporting of email delivery practices, affecting transparency in email service operation.
Reasoning
- This policy primarily impacts individuals who use email services. Given the extensive use of email in personal and professional domains, the American target population of 307 million essentially covers most adults.
- Considering the wide use of email and size of political campaigns, a budget of $600 million is allocated in year one to address transition costs and public reporting structures.
- The bill impacts users based on their email interaction with political content, which varies among individuals based on interest in political matters.
- There will be individuals for whom this policy has no impact, particularly those who do not engage with political entities via email.
- Users deeply involved in politics or managing many political emails may experience a significant change in their daily email management tasks.
- The policy also affects email provider companies indirectly by imposing new public reporting requirements and altering the application of their spam filtering algorithms.
- Given the large number of overall email users, the distribution includes diverse groups - people uninterested in political emails, others heavily exposed to campaigns, and some in neutral positions leaning one way or another.
- A consideration on the budget is the intensity of email use and engagement with political content; thus, a graded impact release allows for catering to various affected populations.
Simulated Interviews
Digital Marketing Specialist (Austin, TX)
Age: 34 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 7
Duration of Impact: 5.0 years
Commonness: 15/20
Statement of Opinion:
- I use my email for so much personal and work content; the last thing I need is more clutter from political emails.
- Transparency in email delivery is great, but I would rather not have my inbox overwhelmed by unsolicited political messages.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 6 | 7 |
| Year 2 | 6 | 7 |
| Year 3 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 5 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 10 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 20 | 8 | 8 |
Political Campaign Manager (New York, NY)
Age: 46 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 6
Duration of Impact: 10.0 years
Commonness: 8/20
Statement of Opinion:
- This policy should help us reach more voters directly without being misclassified as spam.
- Public reporting can enhance trust in the system and ensure our campaigns are delivered effectively.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 8 | 6 |
| Year 2 | 8 | 6 |
| Year 3 | 8 | 6 |
| Year 5 | 9 | 7 |
| Year 10 | 9 | 7 |
| Year 20 | 9 | 8 |
Freelance Journalist (Des Moines, IA)
Age: 28 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 5
Duration of Impact: 2.0 years
Commonness: 10/20
Statement of Opinion:
- I appreciate attempts at transparency, but more political emails could clutter my inbox.
- Improved understanding of email delivery practices is a welcome change.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Year 2 | 5 | 5 |
| Year 3 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 10 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 20 | 7 | 7 |
Software Engineer (San Francisco, CA)
Age: 39 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 8
Duration of Impact: 3.0 years
Commonness: 12/20
Statement of Opinion:
- My email is already busy, and I prefer not getting unsolicited emails, political or otherwise.
- It's good email providers have requirements on reporting, but it affects my everyday email experience.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 8 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 8 |
| Year 3 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 5 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 10 | 9 | 9 |
| Year 20 | 9 | 9 |
Retired (Miami, FL)
Age: 55 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 7
Duration of Impact: 0.0 years
Commonness: 20/20
Statement of Opinion:
- I don't see much change in my lifestyle from this policy.
- It's not that relevant to me personally unless it affects the overall email experience significantly.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 3 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 5 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 10 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 20 | 7 | 7 |
Student (Seattle, WA)
Age: 22 | Gender: other
Wellbeing Before Policy: 6
Duration of Impact: 2.0 years
Commonness: 17/20
Statement of Opinion:
- I think the policy might affect my inbox if it means more unsolicited emails.
- Political content isn't my priority, but the transparency aspect is nice.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 2 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 3 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 10 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 20 | 7 | 7 |
Small Business Owner (Atlanta, GA)
Age: 29 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 7
Duration of Impact: 4.0 years
Commonness: 14/20
Statement of Opinion:
- I need to keep email clutter to a minimum; more political emails are unneeded.
- Clarity in how emails are filtered is positive, but my operations should stay unaffected.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 6 | 7 |
| Year 2 | 6 | 7 |
| Year 3 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 5 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 10 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 20 | 9 | 9 |
Retired (Chicago, IL)
Age: 65 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 8
Duration of Impact: 5.0 years
Commonness: 13/20
Statement of Opinion:
- Receiving more political emails could be beneficial for staying informed.
- I'm interested in how email services report their filtering practices.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 2 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 3 | 9 | 8 |
| Year 5 | 9 | 8 |
| Year 10 | 9 | 8 |
| Year 20 | 9 | 9 |
Public Relations Specialist (Denver, CO)
Age: 44 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 7
Duration of Impact: 5.0 years
Commonness: 11/20
Statement of Opinion:
- More transparency in email delivery is good, though the spam sorting laws could add noise to critical emails.
- In PR, managing inbox traffic is a key part of the job, so I'm skeptical.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 6 | 7 |
| Year 2 | 6 | 7 |
| Year 3 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 5 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 10 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 20 | 8 | 8 |
Software Developer (Boston, MA)
Age: 31 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 7
Duration of Impact: 3.0 years
Commonness: 16/20
Statement of Opinion:
- I'm cautious about what ends up in my inbox, including unrequested political content.
- It's a step forward for regulation on how services operate, but it might lead to more clutter.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 3 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 5 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 10 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 20 | 8 | 8 |
Cost Estimates
Year 1: $600000000 (Low: $400000000, High: $800000000)
Year 2: $650000000 (Low: $450000000, High: $850000000)
Year 3: $700000000 (Low: $500000000, High: $900000000)
Year 5: $800000000 (Low: $600000000, High: $1000000000)
Year 10: $950000000 (Low: $750000000, High: $1150000000)
Year 100: $1200000000 (Low: $1000000000, High: $1400000000)
Key Considerations
- The potential need for email service providers to adjust algorithm-based email filtering systems.
- The balance between preventing spam and ensuring political emails are not unfairly categorized as spam.
- Ensuring comprehensive and accurate public reporting without compromising user data privacy.
- Monitoring the impact on smaller email providers who may face greater challenges in compliance without significant resources.