The CAN-SPAM Act was implemented in the United States to protect the privacy of consumers on January 1st of 2004. CAN-SPAM is short for Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act. The act prevents the use of misleading to and from headers in the email. Marketers are required to include their physical address in the email. There must be an opt out link in every email that gives the consumer the ability to reach the marketer and tell them they no longer want to receive information from them. The sender of the email must work to remove this email address from their data base within 10 business days. Any email that contains sexual content must be clearly labeled and identified before the recipient opens it. Marketers have to get permission from the consumer in order to sell their email address.

Regulators of the web are getting harder on marketers who defile these laws. They are imposing huge fines. In some cases the sender of these marketing emails can be sentenced to jail for a maximum of five years. The harsher regulations are to protect the users of the web and email services who felt their privacy was being defiled as their email continued to be bogged down with hundreds of solicitation emails that were randomly sent without any target market in mind. As the use of email marketing continues to grow, expect the regulations to be further enforced.

In addition, businesses who continue to send such materials to consumers who have requested to be removed from the data base mailing list may decide to sue you and your company. As a business owner, this can be scary. The law protects you as well though. You will not be liable if a spammer has used your business as a cover for their endeavors. You are also not liable if a virus is found in your email marketing campaign as long as you did not place it there or know it was in place prior to sending out the emails.

The Coalition Against Unsolicited Emails is a non-profit advocate organization to help consumers know their rights, to stop unfair email marketing practices, and to provide businesses with answers to their questions before they engage in such activities. They also work closely with members of Congress to get laws passed that will be in the best interest of both consumers and businesses. Their website is a great place to get information.

Email marketing is a great opportunity to keep your business in the mind of consumers as well as encourage them to make new purchases. It is important that you follow the laws and regulations that have been put in place to protect consumers from unfair email marketing practices. While most businesses do all they can to follow these laws, too many don't. Others simply aren't educated in these laws so they break them without intending to or realizing they have. The web is a great place to get additional information of fair email marketing practices as well as the laws for each country. Keep a good eye out for any changes in these laws. There are not any pending issues in the legislation at this time.



Terry Detty, 42 years old, finds internet marketing his passion. In addition to marketing he enjoys reading, and occasionally goes out for a short walk.

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