Can-Spam 2.0. Are you ready?
By Randall Litchfield
The Federal Trade Commission has updated its CAN-SPAM Act regulations (first enacted in 2003) in a move that will make it easier for email recipients to opt out of unwanted emails. The new regulations also more clearly define what’s expected of marketers.
The Act now:
1. Designates that a P.O. Box is valid for physical postal address in your messages as long as it meets US Postal Service registration guidelines. The primary point is that you should be monitoring and processing unsubscribe requests or complaints that arrive via postal mail.
2. Defines a "person" as "an individual, group, unincorporated association, limited or general partnership, corporation or other business entity." The intention here is that companies and other entities other than natural persons can be held liable for CAN-SPAM violations.
3. Sets criteria allowing multiple "senders" of a commercial email, under certain conditions, to identify a single company to be the sole "designated sender" of the message. With this rule, a sender wishing to be the single designated sender would be the only sender required to comply with the Act. The other advertisers in the email message would not be required to comply.
4. Requires marketers to make their opt-out process easy. Specifically, a recipient cannot be required to pay a fee, provide information other than his or her email address and preferences or take any steps other than sending a reply email message or visiting a single page on an internet website in order to opt-out.
One impact of these rules will be on preference centers that require a login. This can no longer be considered a best practice, as the new regulations stipulate that a user must be able to opt-out of an email program by entering no more than their email address. Preference centers can still play an important role in subscription management, but they should be accessed through your website or a link in an email that clearly indicates its purpose. 2. Defines a "person" as "an individual, group, unincorporated association, limited or general partnership, corporation or other business entity." The intention here is that companies and other entities other than natural persons can be held liable for CAN-SPAM violations.
3. Sets criteria allowing multiple "senders" of a commercial email, under certain conditions, to identify a single company to be the sole "designated sender" of the message. With this rule, a sender wishing to be the single designated sender would be the only sender required to comply with the Act. The other advertisers in the email message would not be required to comply.
4. Requires marketers to make their opt-out process easy. Specifically, a recipient cannot be required to pay a fee, provide information other than his or her email address and preferences or take any steps other than sending a reply email message or visiting a single page on an internet website in order to opt-out.
