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1 1 (August 12, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/goveibo0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional ____ ~ Research Service Campaign Finance Policy and Email Spam Filtering: The Google Advisory Opinion Request Updated August 12, 2022 Political campaigns rely heavily on email and the internet to raise money and court voters. On August 11, 2022, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) approved an advisory opinion request (AOR) from Google permitting the company to establish a pilot program enabling Gmail users to provide feedback affecting which political fundraising messages they receive rather than relying on the service's existing spam filters. The AOR is one component of a much larger debate in Congress and beyond about the role that social media platforms and technology companies play in American politics. This CRS Insight provides congressional readers with brief background on the AOR and related campaign finance policy issues. Other CRS products linked herein discuss policy and legal topics that are beyond the scope of this Insight. What are Advisory Opinions? The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) establishes the advisory opinion (AO) process to enable those regulated by campaign finance law or FEC regulations to ask whether specific, planned conduct is permissible. Questions may not be hypothetical. FECA requires votes from a majority of at least four commissioners to approve an AO. An AO is not issued if the commission deadlocks (a vote of fewer than four commissioners reaching agreement one way or another). Members of Congress, in their official or candidate capacities, frequently make AO requests, provide comments, or both. AOs can have long-term ramifications because FECA permits other entities operating under indistinguishable circumstances as the requester to rely on AO guidance. Campaign Finance Policy Background Candidates, parties, and political action committees (PACs) generally have wide leeway to make their own strategic decisions, including about fundraising tactics, provided that they are consistent with relevant law and regulation. Campaign finance law generally does not regulate campaign conduct, but instead specifies how funds affecting campaigns may be raised and spent. In particular, FECA limits contributions; requires identifying information (disclaimers) on communications that raise funds or call Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN11986 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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