CAN-SPAM ACT: LIMITING SPAM

The CAN-SPAM Act (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act) sets requirements for commercial emailers, gives consumers an option to stop spam (unsolicited commercial email) that is sent to them, and establishes penalties for violators of the law.

CAN-SPAM ACT PROVISIONS

The Federal Trade Commission provides a summary of the CAN-SPAM ACT at their website, http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/canspam.htm:

• The law bans false or misleading header information. The originating domain name and email address must be accurate and identify the person who initiated the email.
• It prohibits deceptive subject lines. The subject line cannot mislead the recipient about the contents or subject matter of the message.
• It requires that email messages (spam) give recipients an opt-out method. The sender must provide a return email address or an Internet-based response mechanism that allows a recipient to ask the sender not to send future email messages to the sender’s email address. The sender must comply or risk being in violation of the law.
• It requires that commercial email be identified as an advertisement and include the sender’s valid physical postal address.
• Violations of these and other provisions of the law are subject to fines and criminal penalties, including imprisonment.

LIMITING SPAM

The Federal Trade Commission offers a web page for consumers on how to deal with spam (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/spam/consumer.htm), including links to articles on how to stop pop-up spam, how to reduce the amount of spam you receive, how to spot email scams, how to protect your computer against spam attacks with security products, and how to report violators of the CAN-SPAM Act.

To file a complaint or for further information, visit the website of the Federal Trade Commission, http://www.ftc.gov.

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SOURCE: Federal Trade Commission, "Facts for Business; The CAN-SPAM Act: Requirements for Commercial Emailers"
PREPARED BY: 211/rj
CONTENT LAST REVIEWED: August2007