Tag Archives: SPAM Compliance

If you have an email address or have ever used the internet, you’ve heard of the word “spam” used in some context. We aren’t talking about the canned, mushy, pink colored, slop you can buy at the local grocery store which is edible either. We’re talking about the annoying, viral, sometimes malicious emails you receive in your inbox or all those friend requests you had last night from Facebook or MySpace “users” or any other website you place your information. SPAM doesn’t really stand for anything except the aforementioned annoying term which was derived from the “Monty Python Flying Circus” television show’s SPAM sketch. I apologize for wasting 3+ minutes of your life from watching that clip, if you did, but you should now get the picture of what “spam” is and how it works. No?

Well, what is SPAM in the electronic sense then? According to Wikipedia, SPAM is the abuse of electronic messaging systems to indiscriminately send unsolicited bulk messages. While the most widely recognized form of spam is e-mail spam, the term is applied to similar abuses in other media: instant messaging spam, Usenet newsgroup spam, web search engine spam, spam in blogs, wiki spam, online classified ads spam, mobile phone messaging spam, internet forum spam, junk fax transmissions and file sharing network spam.

“The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act) establishes requirements for those who send commercial email, spells out penalties for spammers and companies whose products are advertised in spam if they violate the law, and gives consumers the right to ask emailer’s to stop spamming them” as stated by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission).

The CAN-SPAM Act requires the following:

• It bans false or misleading header information – all information must be accurate and identify the person who initiated the email in “From”, “To” and the routing information
• It prohibits deceptive subject lines – subject lines must clearly state the purpose of the email message being sent
• It requires that your email give recipients an opt-out option – a return email address must be provided and a method to opt-out from any further emails from the sender; the sender must honor this request and not send any additional emails to the recipient
• It requires that commercial email be identified as an advertisement and include the sender’s valid physical postal address – the email message must contain clean and concise notice that the message is an advertisement or solicitation and give the recipient a means to opt-out along with clearly posting your physical mailing address