On May 12, 2008 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued an approved set of final rules modifying the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 after three years of considering feedback from industry participants. The FTC’s long awaited final rule provides marketers with a set of regulations that address some of CAN-SPAM’s biggest challenges. The regulations also align some of the Act’s provisions with industry reality. Advertisers and list owners are required to understand the regulations and, where applicable, modified practices to conform to the new CAN-SPAM requirements.

The following modifications have been made:

In a multiple-advertiser email, a single advertiser can assume the role of sole “CAN-SPAM sender.” The Final Rule issued by the Federal Trade Commission establishes that, when there are multiple advertisers in single email, a single advertiser can assume the role of sole CAN-SPAM sender if (a) the advertiser meets the requirements of “sender,” as defined under the CAN-SPAM act of 2003, (b) is the only advertiser identified in the “from” line, and (c) complies with all of the other original sender requirements imposed by the Act, including the requirements surrounding a “valid physical postal address.”

Senders must provide recipients with an easy, unburdened way to unsubscribe from a commercial email. Specifically, the Federal Trade Commission requires advertisers to allow consumers to opt out of subsequent commercial email messages from that advertiser without requiring payment, information beyond the consumer’s email address, “or any other obligation as a condition for accepting or honoring a recipient’s opt-out request,” including requiring a consumer to visit more than a single Internet Web page.
“Person” will be defined, for purposes of CAN-SPAM, as an individual, group, unincorporated association, limited or general partnership, corporation, or other business entity.

A “valid physical postal address” has been defined as “the sender’s current street address, a Post Office box the sender has accurately registered with the United States Postal Service, or a private mailbox the sender has accurately registered with a commercial mail receiving agency that is established pursuant to United States Postal Service regulations.”

It is important to note that the FTC did not modify the time in which a sender had to honor an opt-out request. Senders still have ten business days to honor such a request. The FTC agreed with the industry input that there is little evidence to suggest that the ten-day opt-out window was being used as an opportunity to bombard consumers with email.

Marketers need to be careful when applying the new regulations to everyday marketing practices and should consult with their own console.

Reference: www.outperformance-marketing.com, www.mondaq.com, imhe.blogspot.com