|
President George W. Bush pauses before signing
The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.
The
new federal law will supplant tougher anti-spam
regulations passed by several US states,
including a strict Californian law that was took
effect at the beginning of 2004.
This
legislation makes it illegal for anyone to send
misleading emails, while making it easier for
legitimate email marketers to comply with a
single set of laws. As a The NPN Sponder user,
you are already in compliance with most of the
federal law.
The
law appears to allow companies to send one
unsolicited e-mail, but that e-mail must meet
all the other criteria stated below. However,
once an e-mail recipient tells the sender not to
send further unsolicited e-mail, senders are
obliged to comply.
Aside
from requiring specific information in the body
of an e-mail message, CAN-SPAM covers how e-mail
addresses may be collected and who may be held
responsible for sending commercial e-mail to a
user who has requested to be removed from a
list.
For
example, the law stipulates that :
-
The
e-mail message must have correct header
information. (the NPN Sponder creates your
header information in your emails
automatically, and allows you to send using
your own, personal email address. We also
confirm that nothing is fraudulent.)
-
The
message must have an accurate subject line.
-
The
message must contain a functioning return
e-mail address.
-
Senders
must not send e-mail more than 10 business
days after receiving a request to be removed
from a mailing list.
-
Commercial
e-mail must contain a clear identification
that the message is an advertisement, must
contain a conspicuous notice of opportunity
to decline further e-mail and must display
the physical postal address of the sender. (the NPN Sponder
automatically adds an unsubscribe link to
every email sent and also manages the
unsubscribe requests automatically for you,
with a simple global remove from the entire
data base.)
The
most significant change to you is that this new
legislation requires that you include a valid,
physical mailing address in all emails.
While the NPN Sponder helps you automate much of
your email marketing, it is your
responsibility to include a valid
postal address for us to input into all your
emails. According to the CAN-SPAM ACT the
federal government is empowered to enforce the
law. Failure to comply could result in fines and
possible imprisonment.
We
will keep you up to date as best we can of the
news and advice you need to be a responsible
email marketer, and continue to provide you with
the tools to make your email marketing as simple
as possible. The Federal Trade Commission can
make rules under CAN-SPAM, and you should watch
for the FTC report mandated by the CAN-SPAM Act
regarding the creation of a national
do-not-e-mail registry. The initial plan must
was to be given to the U.S. Senate and House of
Representatives by July 2003, although many
experts think the creation of the do-not-e-mail
list faces serious legal hurdles.
This
page is not to be used in place of qualified
legal counsel. The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 is
available HERE.
the NPN Sponder is not responsible for errors or
omissions. Use the information on this page at
your own risk.
If
you have received unsolicited email, forward us
a copy of the offending email with complete
headers to: abuse@thenpnsponder.com
|
