A guide to the Can Spam Act of 2003

The Can Spam Act of 2003 is a British public law order that was implemented with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. The US also implements the law for the sending of commercial messages, which requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to enforce its rules.

What is the Can Spam Act of 2003?

It is a law that details the rules for commercial email, allows receivers to have you stop sending them emails, establishes the requirements for commercial messages, and details the penalties for those who violate the law. The acronym Can Spam comes from the bill's name: Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003. Despite its name, the Act doesn't just apply to bulk email. The definition for the law is 'any electronic email message the primary purpose of which is the promotion of a commercial service or product or commercial advertisement,' which also includes email that boosts content on commercial websites. When the law says all email, it even includes email that is sent to former customers that is announcing a new product. Even this is required to comply with the rules of the law. Those who violate the Can Spam Act face penalties of up to $16,000. However, courts can also set damages of up to $2 million. What is spam mail? Email spam is when spammers send spam, also known as unsolicited bulk email or junk email. Email spam mail is also a subset of spam that features identical messages being sent to various email users. One subset of unsolicited bulk email is unsolicited commercial email, which is where the FTC comes into play. Is spam legal? The spam laws vary with each country. In the United States, spam is technically declared legal by the Can Spam Act of 2003. Of course, it needs to comply with the Act for this to be the case. Spammers in the UK can face a fine of up to £5,000 or an unlimited penalty from a jury if they haven't first received permission from the individual to send them a text message etc.

The requirements of the Can Spam Act

Below are the Can Spam's main requirements for businesses to comply with: 1. Don't use misleading or false header information. 2. Use a legitimate return email address. 3. Use a relevant and truthful subject line. 4. Identify the message as an ad. 5. Provide a valid physical address. 6. Inform recipients how they can opt-out of future emails from you. 7. Honour opt-out requests in a timely fashion. 8. Monitor what others are doing on your behalf. Of course, while this law explains that spam is not to be tolerated, you can spam if you do so by following these rules.