Last year when AOL and Yahoo announced they'd be using Goodmail's CertifiedEmail solution, which charges mass mailers (and non-profits) a small surcharge to bypass spam filters, there was significant outrage. Last week, Verizon, Comcast, Cox and Time Warner Cable implemented the system, and so far there's a general lack of concern, at least judging from the newswires.

ISPs split the revenue with Goodmail 50/50, creating an instantaneous new revenue stream for themselves -- though, of course, their marketing for the new plan focuses on how the deal is really about helping consumers.

WebPro News notes that the deal immediately gives Goodmail a 65% market inbox penetration, a number that jumps to 85% should Microsoft get on board. Google last year stated they wouldn't be playing along: "Gmail does not accept payment to bypass its filters, nor are there plans to charge senders to reach Gmail users."

Bennett Haselton at Slashdot pens one of the first substantive criticisms of the plan we've seen since last week's news:

"If I could ask one serious question of anyone who was defending pay-per-email, or sitting on the fence about it, this would be it: Suppose you sent an extremely urgent e-mail to your doctor or your lawyer, who for the sake of argument you're not able to reach by phone. The recipient's ISP owner happens to see the message before the user retrieves it, and realizes how urgently you need to get it through. So he moves it to the recipient's 'spam' folder, and then calls you up and says: pay me $1,000 to move it to the recipient's inbox, or they'll never see it.

Does the ISP have the right to do that? If not, why not?"

Your thoughts?