President George W. Bush signed the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act into law back in 2003 as a away to regulate and control commercial e-mail. The law has since come to be known as the “CAN-SPAM” law. Although the Act does make some attempt to regulate “junk” mail, it cannot actually prevent all unwanted e-mail.
The CAN-SPAM Act set the first national standards for commercial e-mail. The Act also gave the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, the authority to enforce provisions of the Act. Unfortunately, the Act has largely been unenforced; however, it remains a federal law. Therefore, if you are a business owner who plans to solicit business through mass generated e-mails it is important to understand some of the key components of the law to avoid running afoul of the law.
According to the CAN-SPAM Act, a “commercial electronic mail message” is defined as “any electronic mail message the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service (including content on an Internet website operated for a commercial purpose).” If you plan to market your business by sending unsolicited e-mails they must meet the following guidelines:
• Content – the content “from” and “subject” lines must not be false or deceptive. A physical address of the publisher of the content must also be present. If the material within the e-mail is adult in nature it must be labeled appropriately
• Subscription – the e-mail must contain an “unsubscribe” option for the recipient and all requests to unsubscribe must be processed within ten business days.
• Sending – there are a number of requirements that relate to the sending of unsolicited e-mails. For example, the correspondence cannot be sent through an open relay which, effectively, prevents the recipient from knowing where the e-mail really came from and cannot be sent to “harvested e-mail addresses” which are basically lists of addresses sold by other spammers in most cases. The e-mail must also state that it is an advertisement or marketing material.
A violation of the CAN-SPAM Act is typically charged as a misdemeanor; however, the offense can be aggravated when specific prohibited practices are used.
If you have been charged with a violation of the CAN-SPAM Act in Nebraska, or any other federal law, contact Petersen Criminal Defense Law 24 hours a day at 402-509-8070 to discuss your case with an experienced criminal defense attorney.
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