Anti-Spam Laws

What are anti-spam laws?

As the name suggests, anti-spam laws are regulations that govern how unsolicited emails are handled. Their goal is to protect consumers from emails—commercial or otherwise—that they did not sign up to receive. While different countries have different anti-spam laws, they all practically share this same goal.

If you wish to learn more about this topic, check out the FAQ section below:

Question #1: How does it protect me from unwanted emails?

One of the ways anti-spam laws protect you from unwanted emails is by requiring anyone sending unsolicited emails to provide all recipients a way to unsubscribe or opt-out of receiving future emails. This is exactly why all the emails you receive from reputable companies come with an unsubscribe link at the bottom.

In some countries, email marketers are also required to get your explicit consent first before they can add you to their mailing list and contact you via email. This typically comes in the form of a simple tick box under forms you fill out online whenever you make a purchase or sign up for something.

Question #2: Do anti-spam laws actually make spam illegal?

Anti-spam laws do not actually make spam illegal in certain countries, such as the United States. In fact, email marketers there do not even need to get your consent first before they can contact you via email.

So, what kind of protection can you expect if you live in the US? Well, the country’s anti-spam laws known as the CAN-SPAM Act requires all email marketers to:

1. Let you know exactly who they are
2. Avoid misleading subject lines
3. Let you know that they are trying to sell you something either in the subject line or body of the email
4. Let you know where they are located
5. Give you an easy way to opt-out of receiving future emails
6. Remove you from their mailing list within 10 business days of you unsubscribing

Question #3: What are the penalties for violating it?

The penalties for violating anti-spam laws would ultimately depend on the country implementing them. In some countries, offenders are only required to pay anywhere between a few thousand dollars to several million, depending on the gravity of the offense. In others, offenders may face imprisonment.

This is why if you are a marketer, it is extremely important for you to familiarize yourself with the anti-spam laws in your country. While most email marketing tools already come with built-in anti-spam features to help you stay compliant, it is still ultimately your responsibility to ensure you are doing everything right—especially since anti-spam laws vary from country to country.

Question #4: What do I do if there are no anti-spam laws in my country?

Do not worry if there are no anti-spam laws in your country. Most popular email platforms come with built-in anti-spam features you can use to protect yourself.

Gmail, for instance, is pretty good at automatically filtering out spam emails. And even if a couple manages to get through, it only takes a couple of clicks—or taps if you are using a mobile device—to permanently block the senders.

If that is not enough, you can also use a tool like Boxbe to make it more challenging for people not in your contact list (also known as your guest list) to send you emails. It will ask all non-guests to verify that they are human first before their email can go through, effectively blocking all communication from an autoresponder.

But what if the spam comes in the form of texts or phone calls? Those are quite easy to deal with too. Virtually all mobile devices these days also allow you to quickly block phone numbers you do not want to hear from.