All email marketers and email marketing agencies should know the CAN-SPAM Act. The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (CAN-SPAM) promised to provide remedies against annoying and unsolicited bulk email known as “spam”. Typical of legislation that starts out with limited objectives, CAN SPAM reaches much further than regulating unsolicited, bulk email.

Below is a quick review of CAN-SPAM’s 5 basic rules as supplemented by amendments enacted in 2008.

• Header Information (identifiers such as To, From, IP Address): must not be materially false or materially misleading
• Subject Lines: must not mislead the recipient about a material fact regarding the email’s contents or subject matter
• Return E-Mail Address: must contain a functioning email address that the recipient can use to request no further messages
• Requests to Unsubscribe: if a recipient requests unsubscribe from receiving additional emails, emails matching the unsubscribe request must be honored within 10 days with a mechanism that is available from a single web page and that operates with a single click
• Contents: the email must (i) clearly and conspicuously identify that it is an ad, (ii) provide clear and conspicuous notice the recipient may unsubscribe for additional emails, and (iii) contain a valid postal address for the sender (may include a valid post office or private mailbox address)

In addition to supplementing the 5 basic rules, CAN-SPAM’s 2008 amendments added an additional rule regarding email newsletters and other emails that have multiple advertisers, contributors, or senders. Under the new “designated sender” rule, multiple contributors to the email may designate as single sender who must be designated in the From line, and who will be responsible for CAN-SPAM compliance.

“Commercial” emails are required to comply with all 5 of the basic rules, plus the “designated sender” rule. “Transactional or relationship message” emails are required to comply only with the header information requirement and the “designated sender” rule.

Have questions about the CAN-SPAM Act or need help creating and managing an e-mail marketing program for your business? Contact Stevens & Tate Marketing at www.Stevens-Tate.com.

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