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Technology: What You Need To Know About Complying With CAN-SPAM Act
The CAN-SPAM law has been around since 2003. Designed to be friendly to Internet business efforts, it was passed to stop marketers from using fraudulent or misleading representation to hook customers, and to discourage senders from appropriating email addresses from sources that are not their property – such as Internet Server Provider email directories. Business owners must make sure that in-house e-marketing is compliant with the law and that any third-party marketing firms they use are CAN-SPAM compliant. First, understand which practices are considered criminal offenses and thus prohibited by law. Other practices might fall under the undesirable category and will not put business owners at risk of legal action – but they will likely alienate current and prospective customers. The Law CAN-SPAM defines spam as email whose major purpose is to market a product or service. The law doesn’t forbid email marketing or prohibit businesses from sending unsolicited emails, but it does aim to protect recipients from fraud and gives them a means to opt-out of electronic mailings. The CAN-SPAM Act is enforced primarily by the FTC and the criminal provisions are enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice – though other agencies have secondary enforcement powers. The following misrepresentations and fraudulent practices are viewed as criminal offenses:
The above may be obvious red flags when it comes to sniffing out illegal practices, but the law requires legitimate marketers to be conscientious about several other key aspects:
It might be tempting to entice your customers to open your emails, but your efforts must stay within the guidelines of the law. Relevant, timely, useful content will make your mailings stand out from the crowd. Aim for quality over quantity. |
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