Highlights of the new federal legislation, the 'Can Spam Act of 2003'

The information and links posted here are provided solely for educational and informational purposes, and do not constitute legal advice.

(to view a complete version of the law, please visit http://www.spamlaws.com/federal/can-spam.shtml)

For those sending e-mails in which the primary purpose is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service, the following requirements must be met to comply with the law:

    *A clear, conspicuous, and easy to read 'opt-out' notice and mechanism, whereby the recipient may decline to receive further commercial messages from the sender.  If the recipient does 'opt-out', the sender may send no subsequent advertisements or promotions more than 10 business days after the 'opt-out' request.  Additionally, the sender may not request, sell, lease, exchange, or otherwise transfer or release the e-mail address of the 'opt-out' recipient.

    *The e-mail message must include a functioning, legitimate return e-mail address.  This return address must be capable of receiving mail for at least 30 days after the transmission of the original message.

    *The e-mail message must be clearly identified as an advertisement or solicitation.  There is no requirement for any specific labeling (i.e. ADV in the subject line), but the onus of identifying the message as an advertisement falls on the sender.

    *The e-mail message must include a valid physical address of the sender.  A PO Box does not fulfill this requirement.  The address must be a physical location, where the business and its employees may be found.

Things you may not do under the new law:

    *Send a commercial e-mail message with a false or misleading header or subject line.

    *Use deceptive subject headings.

    *Use "open" relays to disguise the commercial e-mail's origin.