AMP for Email

Google just announced plans to add AMP to email. This announcement is disheartening and yet unfortunately, totally unsurprising.

I've written about this before, but I'll say it again. AMP is bad for the open web, and it will be even worse for email. It is a blatant power grab from Google and openly restricts user freedom.

I would like to remind people that the AMP specification requires JavaScript that is loaded from a domain controlled by Google. Until that changes, user freedom will be restricted and the spec will remain under Google's complete control. The least Google could do would be to allow copies of the requisite JavaScript to be hosted externally. I would be shocked to see them make this change, but I remain optimistic.

There are a few voices on this topic that go into greater detail that I would like to draw attention to.

The first by Devin Coldewey of TechCrunch, hits the nail on the head. It goes into great detail about the many problems of adding AMP to email.

The second is a post from the CEO of Fastmail which also presents a compelling and reasoned argument for keeping AMP out of email.

I'll end this post with a cheesy but deeply important quote: "Be the change you want to see in the world." Choose products that align with your values and that respect your rights and freedoms.