Hello, Kaliman -
Legally speaking, there is federally no official definition or
legislation on "refer-a-friend" programs being regarded as spam in the
United States. In fact, the FTC is currently seeking comments on
proposed legislation involving, among other things, refer-a-friend
programs. See the following link for more information:
FTC Seeks Comments on Spam Regulation
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/03/canspam.htm
You may browse state, federal, and international law on spam here:
Spam Laws
http://www.spamlaws.com
I searched for the term "refer" in the state laws listed on that site,
and could find no reference to "refer-a-friend" type programs. I
highly doubt this kind of thing would be addressed on the state level,
however (as can be seen by the FTC's existing involvement at the
federal level).
In the meantime, the topic can be discussed from an ethical standpoint:
In general, spam is considered "unsolicited, commercial or promotional
email" by most sources. While a refer-a-friend program such as you
describe is indirectly promoting a service, the origination of the
message is of a personal nature. I would liken this to a person
emailing his friend, from his personal email, with a link to sign-up
to a phone service. The only difference here is that the "personal
email message" is being sent within a "commercial template" through a
"commercial service."
If the person who received the message didn't want to receive it,
then, in effect, the message is "spam" by some definitions; however,
that's between the recipient and the sender -- not you.
If you need any additional clarification, please don't hesitate to ask. Thank you.
jbf777
Researcher
Google Answers
Search strategy:
refer-a-friend spam
Additional link:
Current federal and state laws on spam can be seen here:
http://www.spamlaws.com
Spam and the Law by Jessica Levine
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,844394,00.asp
Definitions of spam around the net:
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=define%3Aspam |
