What does CAN-SPAM stand for?
In 2003, Congress enacted the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing ("CAN-SPAM") Act to set a national standard for the regulation of spam email.
What type of emails are prohibited by the CAN-SPAM Act?
The CAN-SPAM Act prohibits the transmission of a commercial e-mail message or a transactional or relationship message that contains materially false or misleading header information. This is the only requirement that applies to both commercial and transactional or relationship messages.
CAN-SPAM Act applies to?
The CAN-SPAM Act requires the Commission to issue regulations “defining the relevant criteria to facilitate the determination of the primary purpose of an electronic mail message.” The CAN-SPAM Act applies almost exclusively to “commercial electronic mail messages”.
CAN-SPAM Act court cases?
The court also found the Washington state Commercial Electronic Mail Act (CEMA) to be displaced by the CAN-SPAM Act, which preempts state laws and rules regulating commercial e-mail except insofar as they target misleading and/or false e-mails or fraud and/or computer crime generally. Gordon v.
Who regulates CAN-SPAM?
the Federal Communications CommissionThe CAN-SPAM Act requires the Federal Communications Commission to issue rules with regard to commercial e-mail and some text messages sent to wireless devices such as cell phones—not email in general.
How do I report a SPAM Act violation?
How to File a CAN-SPAM Complaint with the FTCThe 'File a Complaint' link will take you to: www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov. ... That link launches the FTC Complain Assistant wizard which will guide us through filing a complaint.More items...•
CAN-SPAM violation fines?
If you send commercial emails of any kind, the CAN-SPAM Act applies to you. And if you're in violation, you could be reported to the FTC and face fines of up to $16,000 for each separate email sent!
Is emailing someone illegal?
So to reiterate: It is legal in the U.S. to send an unsolicited commercial email. You do, however, have to comply with certain rules when sending those unsolicited emails, and if you don't, the penalties can be very serious. Follow these five simple guidelines, and stay on the right side of the CAN-SPAM Act.
CAN-SPAM laws 2022?
Senders must not email recipients who have previously opted out of their communication. Senders must honor and remove opt-outs from their email list within 10 business days. Each email sent must have an opt-out mechanism that makes it easy for consumers to opt out of all future mailings.
CAN-SPAM opt out?
Once a person makes an opt-out request, CAN-SPAM prohibits the sale, lease, exchange, transfer, or release of that person's e-mail address to anyone else for any purpose (except as required by law).
CAN-SPAM record retention requirements?
These record retention rules require lawyers to retain copies of all advertisements in addition to information concerning where and when the advertisements were used. Periods of the required retention range from two to 10 years.
CAN-SPAM compliance checklist?
Key CAN-SPAM requirements include: Not misleading to the recipient. All emails must contain an accurate representation of the sender — individual, brand, or company — and a clear, non-deceptive subject line. For example, an ecommerce company cannot insert “Amazon” as the “From” name unless it is Amazon.
Overview
Criminal enforcement
On February 16, 2005, Anthony Greco, 18, of Cheektowaga, New York, was the first person to be arrested under the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced in a closed session.
Within a few months, hundreds of lawsuits had been filed by an alliance of ISPs. Many of these efforts resulted in settlements; most are still pending. Though most defendants were "John Does," …
History
The backronym CAN-SPAM derives from the bill's full name: Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act of 2003. It plays on the word "canning" (putting an end to) spam, as in the usual term for unsolicited email of this type. The bill was sponsored in Congress by Senators Conrad Burns and Ron Wyden.
The CAN-SPAM Act is occasionally referred to by critics as the "You-Can-Spam" Act because th…
The mechanics of CAN-SPAM
CAN-SPAM, a direct response of the growing number of complaints over spam e-mails, defines a "commercial electronic mail message" as "any electronic mail message the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service (including content on an Internet website operated for a commercial purpose)." It exempts "transactional or relationship messages." The FTC issued final rules (16 CFR 316) clarifying the p…
Private right of action
CAN-SPAM provides a limited private right of action to Internet Access Services that have been adversely affected by the receipt of emails that violate the Act; and does not allow natural persons to bring suit. A CAN-SPAM plaintiff must satisfy a higher standard of proof as compared with government agencies enforcing the Act; thus, a private plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant either sent the email at issue or paid another person to send it knowing that the send…
Overriding state anti-spam laws
CAN-SPAM preempts (supersedes) state anti-spam laws that do not deal with false or deceptive activity. The relevant portion of CAN-SPAM reads:
This chapter supersedes any statute, regulation, or rule of a State or political subdivision of a State that expressly regulates the use of electronic mail to send commercial messages, except to the extent that any such statute, regulation, or rule prohibits falsity or deception in any portion o…
CAN-SPAM and the FTC
CAN-SPAM allows the FTC to implement a national do-not-email list similar to the FTC's popular National Do Not Call Registry against telemarketing, or to report back to Congress why the creation of such a list is not currently feasible. The FTC soundly rejected this proposal, and such a list will not be implemented. The FTC concluded that the lack of authentication of email would undermine the list, and it could raise security concerns.
Reaction
Those opposing spam greeted the new law with dismay and disappointment, almost immediately dubbing it the "You Can Spam" Act. Internet activists who work to stop spam stated that the Act would not prevent any spam — in fact, it appeared to give federal approval to the practice, and it was feared that spam would increase as a result of the law. CAUCE (Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email) stated: