What is the CAN-SPAM Law?
November 7, 2011
Compared to other countries the United States has a very lenient law regarding sending commercial, non-transactional email messages. There are, however, three simple and clear rules that should always be adhered to avoid breaking the CAN-SPAM Law:
Unsubscribe Compliance:
- Every email should have a visible unsubscribe method.
- All unsubscribe requests should be honored within 10 days of their receipt.
Content Compliance:
- The ‘from’ name should be accurate.
- The subject line must be relevant to the content of the email.
- A legitimate physical address of the sender/advertiser should be visible on all emails.
Sending Behavior Compliance:
- You must not use an open relay. An open relay is a server that is not properly secure, allowing third parties to send email.
- Email senders must not take email addresses from online postings, content on websites, or through other means that bypass opt-in rules.
