The federal Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and
Marketing (aka CAN-SPAM) Act of 2003, passed by the Senate in December
2003, establishes a single national standard regulating commercial
email. It replaces a patchwork of legislation in over 35 states, in
particular preempting tough Californian legislation that was scheduled
to take effect on 1 January 2004, and building on the 1991 federal
Telephone Consumer Protection Act, primarily concerned with
'cold-calling' of residences.
The federal CAN-SPAM enactment gained the support of major direct
marketers, in particular because it omits provisions in Californian
and Washington state law permitting consumers to sue spammers. The
Washington legislation had resulted in several high-profile suits in
which spammers were found guilty and ordered to pay significant
damages.
The national legislation prohibits common spamming practices such as
address harvesting and false headers and sender details. It imposes
regulations on all commercial email. In contrast to the Australian
regime, it does not ban unsolicited commercial email, instead simply
requiring that marketers remove customers from their lists on request.
It mandates that senders must include a physical address and valid
opt-out mechanism, along with an "honest subject line" and notice that
the messages are ads. Advertisers are responsible for commercial
messages sent on their behalf. |
