Avoid Potential Liability for Violating Laws Related to Email Marketing
May 19, 2017
Authored by: BCLP, Christopher Achatz and John Bush
Email is an important marketing tool for retailers, who should be aware of federal and state laws regulating its commercial use. Since its enactment in 2003, the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (“CAN-SPAM”) Act has attempted to curb the number of unwanted emails and impose some rules on a largely unregulated frontier. When followed, CAN-SPAM Act’s restrictions give email recipients some control over their inboxes and also maintain fairness in how emails present themselves. Failure to follow the CAN-SPAM Act can lead to penalties of up to $16,000 per violation.
In addition, thirty-seven states have laws regulating unsolicited email advertising. The majority of these state laws target commercial or fraudulent electronic mail. Most state anti-spam laws prohibit using misleading information in the subject line of the message; misrepresenting or