Update: The CAN-SPAM Act

Since 2003, the CAN-SPAM Act has regulated various aspects of email marketing campaigns. And now—after a three-year period of consideration—the Federal Trade Commission has announced four new rule provisions you should know about.



Following are the four topics that these new provisions address:

1. An email recipient cannot be required to pay a fee, provide information other than his or her email address and opt-out preferences, or take any steps other than sending a reply email message or visiting a single Internet Web page to opt out of receiving future email from a sender.

2. The definition of "sender" was modified by the FTC to make it easier to determine which of multiple parties advertising in a single email message is responsible for complying with the Act’s opt-out requirements.

3. A "sender" of commercial email can include an accurately registered post office box or private mailbox established under United States Postal Service regulations to satisfy the Act’s requirement that a commercial email display a "valid physical postal address."

4. A definition of the term "person" was added to clarify that CAN-SPAM's obligations are not limited to "natural persons."

The good news: If you're an ethical email marketer, these provisions may well just reinforce what you're already doing for your customers.

The Po!nt: The odds are good you won't need to make major changes to comply with the FTC's revised rules. "From the FTC press release," writes Laura Atkins at the Word to the Wise blog, "it seems that the rules are reasonably sane and any current mailer following best practices will already be in compliance."

Source: Word to the Wise. Read the full post here.

Source: Federal Trade Commission. Read the full press release here.