Information about CAN-SPAM
The US Congress passed anti-spam legislation
called the CAN-SPAM Act which
took effect on January 1st, 2004. This webpage
is intended to help you become aware of and compliant
with
CAN-SPAM. This document is not legal advice;
please consult a qualified attorney for legal
counsel about your company's CAN-SPAM compliance.
CAN-SPAM regulates all commercial electronic mail
messages (known as CEMMs), not just bulk email
or spam email. A CEMM is a message whose primary
purpose is to promote or advertise your company,
product(s), or service(s). All CEMMs your company
sends, or your company's employees send, even
if they're only sent to a single person, should
comply with CAN-SPAM.
- Prohibits the use of misleading subject lines
and other misdirection in the message headers.
- Requires labeling, in the message subject,
of unsolicited CEMMs. Also requires that unsolicited CEMMs
contain clear and conspicuous notice that they
are an advertisement or solicitation.
- Requires a working "opt out" mechanism
in each CEMM, a clear and conspicuous notice
that it is possible to opt out, and a valid physical
postal address for the sender. Opt-out requests
must take effect within 10 days.
- Authorizes the FTC to create a national do-not-email
registry, and directs the FTC to recommend a
plan for this within six months.
- Supersedes any and all state laws that explicitly
regulate commercial electronic mail, except insofar
as they apply to fraud. Specifically, CAN-SPAM
preempts California SB 186, which is another
anti-spam law that was slated to take effect
on January 1st, 2004.
CAN-SPAM also defines
a category of "transactional
and relationship email" which is in most cases
excluded from provisions (1) through (4). Such
messages cannot advertise or promote your company,
and should have content that directly relates to
ongoing business between the sender and the recipient.
For example, a shipping confirmation email message
would be a "transactional or relationship" email,
while a holiday greeting email would be a promotional
CEMM.
If your business is conducting
opt-in mailings, there is no reason to be alarmed
by the
passage of CAN-SPAM. However, you will probably
need to
make some adjustments to your email content and/or subscription form(s) to
be in compliance.
CAN-SPAM may be enforced by the FTC, State Attorneys-General,
and ISPs. Individual citizens have no private right
of action under CAN-SPAM.
While CAN-SPAM does not
prohibit unsolicited email, your policy of delivering
only opt-in email that does not employ any deceptive practices in message headers
should not change. (Provision 1, above.)
CEMMs sent to subscribers do not need any special
labeling in their Subject line. Only unsolicited
messages must be labeled, and such messages may
not be sent via iPost. (Provision 2, above.)
You must indicate "clearly and conspicuously" that
your CEMM is an "advertisement or solicitation." We
recommend you include a statement to that effect
somewhere in your message, perhaps as part of your
standard footer.
You must include a working opt out (unsubscribe)
mechanism and notice in every message, even singular
emails sent by individual employees. (Provision
3, above.)
You must include your physical postal address
in each CEMM. (Provision 3, above.) A P.O. Box
may be sufficient (CAN-SPAM does not specify),
but a street address is certain to comply.
The opt out mechanism
must provide a single option to stop all CEMMs,
but may also provide a wider
range of choices (such as iPost's "topics").
If your email preferences page provides multiple
choices for subscribing, you should ensure that
there is a single item that opts out of all choices.
(Provision 3, above.)
When a subscriber opts out of your mailings, you must ensure that they receive
no more CEMMs advertising or promoting your company, from any source.
For example, you must ensure that opt-outs that
your mailing lists collect are also passed on to
your Sales department, to ensure your salespeople
do not send CEMMs to those opt outs either.
For another example, if you perform email comarketing
with a partner who sends email promoting your company,
you must pass your opt-outs to your partner so
they can ensure your opt outs do not receive the
mailing.
- To protect your brand and help ensure your
email is delivered to your subscribers, it is
more important than ever to follow opt-in list
best practices:
First and foremost, do not send commercial email to someone who has not explicitly
agreed to receive it from you.
- Don't use rented or third-party email lists
to advertise your brand. It is an unresolved
legal question whether permission can be transferred
from one brand or company to another.
- Use opt-in mechanisms that are clear and concise.
Don't automatically assume that your customers
or website visitors want to receive marketing
email from you. Instead, provide an opt-in checkbox,
turned off by default, on your checkout or info
request pages. Keep database records and web
logs of your subscribers' opt-ins, so that you
can protect yourself in the event of a complaint.
iPost offers CANcomply,
a centralized opt-out management service that
can
assist you in maintaining CAN-SPAM compliance for
your entire company's email communications. |
