CAN-SPAM Act, Section 5: More Prohibitions

Writing by Brick Marketing on Friday, 12 of October , 2007 at 8:06 am

Yesterday, we discussed Section 4 of the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. Today, I want to discuss Section 5. Some of the prohibitions included in the Act are:

1. Misleading or false information in an e-mail header
2. Deceptive subject headings
3. Absence of return address or comparable mechanism
4. Transmission of commercial e-mail after being rejected
5. Non-inclusion of opt-out process, identifying information, and physical address

Of course, just looking at these points out of context lends nothing to the discussion on e-mail spam. A little elaboration is necessary. Below is a short explanation of each bullet point. For a fuller treatment on the prohibitions in e-mail spam, see the Act in its entirety here.

The Prohibitions On E-mail Spam Outlined

Header - Every commercial e-mail header must contain truthful information. You can’t mislead people by telling them your e-mail is about one thing and make it be about something else.

Subject headings - Same applies. Do not deceive.

Return address - You must include a return e-mail address or hyperlink to a website within your e-mail and it must be conspicuously visible.

Rejections - If someone says they don’t want to receive further communications from you then you can’t send them more e-mails.

Opt-out - Within your e-mail you must include a way for people to opt-out of your e-mail transmissions. You must also conspicuously let people know that your e-mail is an advertisement or solicitation. You must also include a valid physical address of the person sending the e-mail.

This is by no means a comprehensive treatment of e-mail spam, but it does give you an idea of how you should treat your e-mail marketing campaigns and to let you know what you can and cannot do. I highly encourage you to read the CAN-SPAM Act on your own to get a better understanding of these issues.

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Category: Not Spam

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