What is CAN-SPAM?
The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 is a law outlining the rules and requirements for commercial email and commercial messages as well as the penalties for violating them. It also gives the recipient the right to opt out of receiving messages from companies, brands, and marketers.
If you wish to learn more about this topic, check out the FAQ section below:
Question #1: What types of commercial messages does CAN-SPAM cover?
The types of commercial messages CAN-SPAM covers include, as outlined by the law, ‘any electronic mail message the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service’. This includes any email that is meant to promote content on a commercial website.
It does not matter if the email is business-to-business or business-to-consumer. As long as it is commercial in nature, it must comply with the provisions of the law.
Question #2: What are the primary requirements of the CAN-SPAM Act?
The primary requirements of the CAN-SPAM Act are as follows:
Do not use misleading or false header information. You need to make sure that your To, From, and Reply-To, as well as your originating domain name, routing information, and email address, are all accurate and clearly identify the individual or company that sent the message out.
Do not use misleading subject lines. You need to make sure that your subject line accurately captures the content of your message. Also, you must also make it clear that your message is an ad.
Let recipients know your location. You need to make sure that your message shows your physical postal address, which can be your street address, a USPS post office box registered under your (or your business’ name), or a private mailbox registered under your name with any commercial mail receiving agency that is established in line with Postal Service regulations.
Make it clear to recipients how they can opt out of receiving messages from you. You need to make sure that your opt out instructions are written in a manner that is easy for anyone to identify, read, and comprehend. You can even play around with different font colors, sizes, and locations to improve clarity. In addition, you also need to provide each recipient a return email address or any other online means to let you know they want to opt out of receiving either some or all your future messages.
Promptly honor all opt-out requests you receive. Once a recipient sends you an opt-out request, you need to honor it within 10 business days without charging any fees, requiring the recipient to provide you with any other personally identifying information aside from their email address, or asking the recipient to take any other action on top of sending an opt-out request via email or visiting no more than a single web page.
In addition, you are not allowed to sell or transfer the email addresses of recipients that have opted out from receiving messages from you in any way, shape, or form, except in instances where you need to transfer the email addresses to an external supplier you have hired to help you stay compliant with the provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act
Finally, you need to also make sure that all opt-out mechanisms you provide are able to process opt-out requests no less than 30 days after your message is sent.
Make sure any external suppliers you hire are also compliant. According to the CAN-SPAM Act, even if you outsource your email marketing to an external company, you still retain the legal responsibility to stay compliant with the law. This means that in the event of a violation, you and the company you hired may both be held legally responsible.
Question #3: What are the penalties for violating the provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act?
Depending on the gravity of the violation, each email you send out that goes against any or all of the provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act may be subject to as much as $43,792 in legal fines.