The 411 on Spam Laws
December 6th, 2008
As of 2008 there are 37 states in the USA, which have passed an anti-spam law to regulate unsolicited commercial email. Each one of these 37 states has a unique law, as there is no uniform state law. Despite there being no uniform law most anti-spam statutes, as well as the federal CAN SPAM ACT, primarily aim to prevent deception. Deception is the hallmark of SPAM.
The following is a short list comprising most of the email campaigning ‘do’s and dont’s’:
- You must provide an easy “opt-out” option
- Once a person has opted out you may no longer send messages to him/her
- You may not Include false or misleading content (in the header, source, path, or subject line)
- If the recipient has not “opted in” to your list you must include ADV: as the first item in the header (short for advertisement)
