The CAN-SPAM Act (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing) went into effect on January 1, 2004
The Can Spam Act requires that people who send out commercial email follow certain rules and regulations. There are penalties for violating these regulations. As a consumer, you can also ask spammers to stop emailing you.
The Can Spam Act is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the United States’ federal department of consumer protection. Other things that the FTC is responsible for that you may be familiar with is ensuring truth in advertising by businesses and enforcing the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. The Can Spam Act also gives the Department of Justice (DOJ) the ability to go after spammers on criminal charges if necessary. The Can Spam Act also allows companies that provide internet access to sue spammers.
The Can Spam Act bans false or misleading header information, meaning that all of the email’s originating information must be true and accurately identify the source of the email.
It prohibits deceptive subject lines. If you open an email that looks like it might be an email from a possible new business client that just says something like “Did you get my last email?” and you open it to find a sales pitch or pornographic content, that email is in violation of the Can Spam Act and can be reported to the FTC.
The Can Spam Act requires that the commercial emailer provide a way for people to opt out of receiving emails from them. If they do not comply with your request to stop sending emails within 10 days, they are in violation of the law.
Commercial email also must be identified as an advertisement and must provide a valid physical postal address for the business.
Penalties for commercial emailers who violate the Can Spam Act include fines of up to $11,000 for each violation.
There are additional fines for commercial emailers who harvest emails, generate email addresses using a “dictionary attack”, register for multiple addresses or user accounts using automated means, or relay emails through another network or computer without permission.
The Department of Justice can also pursue criminal action against commercial emailers who use another computer without authorization to send emails, attempt to deceive or mislead email recipients about the origin of the email, provide false header information, falsify the identities of recipients, or otherwise falsely represent themselves.
