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Are Your Emails Compliant With Anti-Spam Laws?

In order to avoid unwanted fines, companies must ensure that business, marketing, advertising, or commercial emails are compliant with the current anti-spam laws.

blog-imageThe repercussions of sending emails that aren’t compliant with established anti-spam laws can be disastrous to any sized business. From a tarnished reputation to hefty fines, violating anti-spam laws should be avoided at all costs. However, before you can avoid sending a spam email, you must first understand its official definition.

An email is considered spam if the sender chooses to remain anonymous, promotes “spam activities,” or if it was sent with malicious intent. It is important to note that “spam activities” can be defined as any email that would require the receiver to send personal information or sensitive financial information to the anonymous sender. The aforementioned activities are also considered spam when the sender has a malicious intent and / or is intending to use the sensitive information for personal gain. Finally, an email can be in violation of anti-spam laws if it provides false or misleading information.

How can you remain complaint with anti-spam laws?
Before you hit send on your next email campaign, make sure that it complies with the following anti-spam acts and guidelines.

  • USA Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Guidelines — These anti-spam guidelines should be adhered to at all times:
    • Don’t use deceptive language.
    • Don’t provide misleading information within the subject line, email body, or attachments.
    • Do provide a physical business address within the email body or email signature.
    • Do provide an easily identifiable opt-out option for recipients. Email recipients should also be able to customize their email subscription preferences for future communications.
    • Do honor opt-out requests in a prompt manner.
    • Do monitor what others, such as marketers or sale development reps, are emailing on behalf of your company. Your company is legally responsible for email messages sent on its behalf.
  • USA : CAN-SPAM Act — This anti-spam law is inclusive of all commercial messages that are sent to recipients within the United States. The law also applies to any email that promotes a product or service, or is a form of advertisement for a business or individual. CAN-SPAM does allow senders to email recipients without first having an existing business relationship.
  • Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) — CASL regulations are very strict and designed to protect Canadian recipients from unwanted spam emails. In addition to the requirements of the CAN-SPAM Act, CASL also includes both express and implied consent requirements. These requirements are designed to prevent companies from sending out mass cold-call style emails. Companies can still send an email to an unknown business contact provided that his or her email is publicly available on a company or personal website, and the email message is in an official business capacity that relates to the recipient’s business role or function.

In addition to adhering to the above guidelines, you should review government regulations before beginning an email marketing campaign. Keep in mind that anti-spam laws are subject to change. Businesses must adhere to and remain compliant with the latest version of the anti-spam laws for all email communications. For additional tips on how to avoid violating anti-spam laws within the United States and Canada, contact McLane Intelligent Solutions located in Texas via {email}or {phone}.