Everything you wanted to know about Controlling the Assault
Email Campaigns have always been a part of a lot of digital marketing campaigns and have also proven to be extremely effective.
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Updated November 2026. This was first published on 26 May 2020. The idea is the same. Any number below is what the original piece said then. It is not a new count.
Key takeaways
- Email Campaigns have always been a part of a lot of digital marketing campaigns and have also proven to be extremely effective.
- As of 2019, global email users amounted to 3.9 billion whereas the figure is expected to grow to 4.3 billion by 2023.
- Moreover, 81% of businesses worldwide count on email as their prime customer acquisition channel and 80%for customer retention.
Email Campaigns have always been a part of a lot of digital marketing campaigns and have also proven to be extremely effective. As of 2019, global email users amounted to 3.9 billion whereas the figure is expected to grow to 4.3 billion by 2023. Moreover, 81% of businesses worldwide count on email as their prime customer acquisition channel and 80%for customer retention.
As a business, you might also have been using email for all kinds of promotions and communication but you need to realize that its misuse can lead to some serious legal implications. One such law signed by the US president George W. Bush back in 2003 established some standards of sending out commercial emails and messages, which was named as the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.
CAN-SPAM stands for Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act which serves the basic purpose of giving recipients the right to have a business stop emailing them. Read on to find out more on what the CANSPAM Act is and how can your business ensure compliance with it.
The Need for CANSPAM #
Email is one of the most heavily used channels for communicating formally through the web. Unfortunately, it has also been one of the most abused forms of communication when it comes to spam or unsolicited promotional campaigns. Email spam was at its peak back in 2003 when a survey revealed that 25%of internet users had reduced the use of email because of spam. 52%of the respondents said spam made them less trusting of email in general while around 71%reported that spam made being online unpleasant or infuriating.
The CANSPAM Act was introduced to control this clutter of unwanted, unsolicited, and unnecessary emails businesses send out to the consumers. Part of it also intended to set out rules and guidelines on the type of content that can be shared (hence the link to pornography) and the manner in which it should be shared. Thus, due to the heavy penalties and other consequences for violation of the act, it has been really effective in controlling this unwanted spam.
Key Legislative Points #
Despite the long years this act has been in place for, many businesses are still confused about what they can and cannot do with their Email campaigns. Here is a rundown of the key legislative points of the act.
The email header must not include any false or misleading information. The routing information must be accurate and should clearly identify the person or the company that initiated the message. The subject line of the email should not be deceptive. It must clearly reflect the content of the message in the email. If the email message is an advertisement, the intent must be clearly and conspicuously communicated to the receiver.
The email must include a valid physical postal address of the sender. This address can be the exact street address, a post office box, or a private mailbox registered with a commercial mail receiving agency operating under the Postal Service regulations. The email must include clear instructions on how to opt-out of receiving future emails. The instructions must be readable, and easily understandable by an ordinary person. requests from the recipient must be honored within 10 days of sending the request. Once the recipients opt-out of the emails, their email address can not be sold or transferred to any other party. Any third-party sending out emails on your behalf must also be kept in check. In case of non-compliance, both the parties - the party whose business is being promoted and the party sending out emails on their behalf - can be held legally responsible.
Notable Prosecutions #
The first case involving a prosecution under the CANSPAM act was against ‘Global Web Promotions?, a spam enterprise that operates out of Australia and New Zealand. The company was accused of sending out more than 399,000 spam messages to the consumers. The violations under the CANSPAM Act caused a penalty of $490,280in this case.
A similar complaint targeting Detroit-based ‘Phoenix Avatar? was developed in a joint investigation with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit and the U.S. This one had similar accusations with more than 490,000 spam messages sent out to the recipients. The US District Court Judge granted an injunction prohibiting the illegal spamming and froze the defendant’s assets.
Another trial that included charges under the CANSPAM act was against James R. Schaffer, of Paradise Valley, Arizona, and Jeffrey A. Both Kilbride and Schaffer were found guilty of two violations of the CANSPAM Act. One of the violations included sending multiple electronic commercial mail messages containing falsified header information, and the other one stemmed from using domain names that had been registered using materially false information. The penalty in this case amounted to $6 million in fines and five years in prison.
A major San Francisco IT support company was fined $900,000in 2006 for sending emails with misleading subject lines. Their messages were not clearly labelled as advertisements and there was no opt-out option.
Notable Honest Mistakes #
Despite understanding the CANSPAM Act through and through, honest mistakes have been made on the part of brands emailing their customers and consequently, they have faced some negative consequences. Here are some common mistakes that brands often make.
The law clearly states that a physical address has to mentioned in the emails. Brands often misunderstand this as simply an ‘address? and go with only leaving a link to their website or their contact number in place of the physical address. Since a lot of email campaigns are outsourced to a digital marketing agency, brands fail to ensure compliance on their behalf, although the act states that both parties are equally liable to any legal consequences. of the email as an advertisement simply does not do. If it is not explicitly mentioned that the email is an ad, you are going to get in trouble.
How Brands Are Now Obtaining Consent #
With the CANSPAM Act in place, brands have now been extra cautious on obtaining consent from the recipients. Here are some best practices some leading brands across the globe have been following.
The US fashion brand, Michael Kors uses a clear and concise consent form for opting into all kinds of promotional emails and messages. They clearly communicate to the users what’s coming their way and they can choose to opt-out without any consequences.
Once the users subscribe to these, the messages they receive include the physical address of the company along with a simple one-click method to unsubscribe from the emails.
TechCrunch is an American online publisher focusing on the tech industry. Their newsletter and email consent form clearly explains what the users are subscribing for when they consent to receive emails.
Moda Operandi, another US-based women’s fashion brand uses a consent form which also talks about opting-out of the emails.
CANSPAM for Wireless Devices #
The CANSPAM Act somewhat different implications for wireless devices. It prohibits sending commercial emails to wireless devices unless the recipients have provided clear consent to receive such messages from the sender. This consent may be obtained orally or in writing. Some disclosures that need to be made clearly at the time such consent is obtained are,.
That the recipient agrees to receive promotional emails on their wireless device by a particular sender.
That the subscribers may be charged according to the rates specified by their wireless service provider for receiving such promotional messages.
That the recipients revoke their authorization to receive such messages at any time.
The authorization they provide must include their signature, which may be in a digital or an electronic form. Any other forms of consent obtained may be penalised. Any unsolicited emails sent out to wireless devices are directly barred by the Federal Communications Commission (FFC).
Take on Transactional Messages #
Transactional messages, which are meant to communicate transactional content to the recipients, are mostly exempt from the requirements of the CANSPAM Act. These messages only need to have clear header information and all other requirements other than that do not apply for these emails.
The Negative Side #
CANSPAM has been extremely helpful in controlling the unsolicited and unnecessary emails for the recipients but there also been a negative side to it. The laws for spam control are not the same across the globe and the restrictions that apply vary across borders. The US CANSPAM Act imposes restrictions on the senders based on their location and does not consider the local regulations of the recipients? This creates a lot of conflict and makes things difficult for businesses when dealing with international clients.
Questions and answers #
How Brands Are Now Obtaining Consent? #
With the CANSPAM Act in place, brands have now been extra cautious on obtaining consent from the recipients. Here are some best practices some leading brands across the globe have been following.
The first case involving a prosecution under the CANSPAM act was against ‘Global Web Promotions? #
, a spam enterprise that operates out of Australia and New Zealand. The company was accused of sending out more than 399,000 spam messages to the consumers.
Brands often misunderstand this as simply an ‘address? #
and go with only leaving a link to their website or their contact number in place of the physical address.