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Top 3 Email Spam Laws: Detailed Guide

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Today emails are one of the most important part of our lives,to achieve the accelerated growth in our career emails have become the indigenous part of our day-to-day activity but while operating this tool of digital world we come across some unwanted and risky mails called spam, these might appear like normal mails but have potential to steal our identity.

Let us have a look as to what are spam email and what are the laws to control it.

What is a spam email?

A spam is an unwanted email which we receive from an unknown person,companies or source.

Spam mails are a waste of our time and resources,in many countries it is considered a serious crime and the person or company sending a spam email has to pay a hefty fine.

Recently in Canada an online dating site had to pay $48000, because they were sending commercial emails without a clear and working un-subscribe mechanism,this company was not sending any unwanted mails but the mistake they did was not following the guidelines stipulated in their countries anti-spam law.

Top 3 Email Spam Laws Worldwide:

  1. Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation 2014 (CASL):

    • Prohibits sending commercial emails without recipient consent.
    • Bans the use of false or misleading representations.
    • Mandates inclusion of the sender’s details and an unsubscribe link.
    • Requires prompt action on unsubscribe requests at no cost to the receiver.
  2. United States – CAN-SPAM Act of 2003:

    • Permits commercial emails only with recipient consent.
    • Demands clear identification of the sender.
    • Mandates inclusion of an “opt-out” option, to be honored within 10 days.
    • Requires identification of messages as advertisements and prohibits deceptive subject lines.
  3. United Kingdom – Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003:

    • Allows marketing emails only with specific individual consent.
    • Demands clear unsubscribe options in emails or a freephone number.
    • Applies to viral marketing.
    • Permits sending emails to existing customers only if related to ongoing negotiations.

So, let us know briefly what these laws are , according to Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation 2014 it is prohibited to send a commercial email or text message to someone without the recipients consent,use of false or misleading representations in the promotion of products and services is also prohibited.

This law makes it compulsory to include the sender’s name and address in the email along with a link to un-subscribe.

Also the sender must act on the unsubscribe request within 10 days at no cost to the receiver.

United States -Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 (CAN-SPAM Act of 2003),It states that the sender can send a commercial email to the receiver only if the receiver has given a written or oral consent,the sender must identify itself or the entity by stating the name who is sending the email and not use false or misleading header information,once the sender is authorized by the receiver then each mail sent should have the “opt-out”option and this “opt-out” has to be honored within 10 days,”opt-out” in simple language means blocking the sender, this law requires to identify the message as an advertisement,tell recipients where you’re located and must not use deceptive subject lines.

It is also required to monitor what others are doing on your behalf. The law makes clear that even if you hire another company to handle your email marketing, you can’t contract away your legal responsibility to comply with the law.

Both the company whose product is promoted in the message and the company that actually sends the message may be held legally responsible.

The third law which we will discuss now is United Kingdom-Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 according to this law organisations can generally only send marketing texts or emails to individuals if that person has specifically consented to receiving them. Indirect consent is unlikely to be sufficient,The rules also apply to viral marketing.

This law requires to allow individuals to reply directly to the message and opt out that way, to provide a clear and operational un-subscribe link in emails or at least to provide a freephone number.

This law specifically states that in case an organisation is sending an email to its existing customer then it can be only sent if the mail id is received to the sender during the negotiation of sale and the mail should be related to the product or service currently under negotiation,and the sender must give the receiver a simple opportunity to refuse or opt out of the marketing, both when first collecting the details and in every message after that.

If we look closely in each law we can find that they are somewhat similar but may have different definitions as per their country,each law has its objective such as for Canada its ” to encourage the growth of electronic commerce by ensuring confidence and trust in the online marketplace.

To do so, the Act prohibits damaging and deceptive spam, spyware, malicious code, botnets, and other related network threats.”United States objective behind CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 is to limit the transmission of pornographic emails by spammer and the objective of UK spam law is consumer protection from direct marketing including all electronic communications such as email or ( SMS ) mobile phone messages.

Objectives Behind Email Spam Laws: Each law aims at instilling confidence and trust in online communication, limiting the transmission of malicious emails, and protecting consumers from unsolicited marketing.

The Need for Indian Legislation: India currently lacks comprehensive anti-spam laws, resulting in daily influxes of unwanted emails. The implementation of such laws is crucial for consumer protection, a healthier cyber market, and increased productivity.

Benefits of Anti-Spam Laws:

  1. Consumer Trust: Reduced spam builds trust in online businesses, creating a more secure environment for consumers.
  2. Economic Impact: Lesser spam allows real marketers to communicate effectively, boosting demand and supply in the economy.
  3. Cost Efficiency: Control on spam reduces expenditure on anti-spam software, redirecting resources to more impactful initiatives.

India’s success in controlling telephone call spam demonstrates the potential for effective legislation. A robust anti-spam law is essential to combat the rising spam epidemic, protect consumers, and foster a more secure and productive digital environment.

I hope that some day even in India we will have such a law to protect us from the spammers.

This is necessary because we are getting daily 10-20 or more spam mail into our inbox daily and frequently there are news of people getting duped to the tune of Rs.10000 to Rs.100000 or even more.

Awareness and education related to spam alertness is the need of the hour today .

This will help us to create the environment of healthy competition and consumer friendly cyber market. It will indirectly boost our productivity,since spam consumes a lot of our time and resources .

We need to stop spam so the real marketers can get to send across their communication to its customer more effectively and thus create more demand and supply for the economy.Lesser the spam more will the customer trust in online business.

Control on spam will reduce our expenditure on anti-spam software and we will be able to utilize this money on other better initiatives.

Thus after getting to understand the benefits of Anti Spam Law I support them totally and wish to see a robust anti-spam law in India too which will give strict punishments to the spam senders .

India has already achieved to a very great extent in control of telephone call spam through its various Telecommunications Marketing laws and guidelines.

Also it has a successful ratio in penalizing the defaulters for non-compliance of this telecommunication laws, if we are able to apply somewhat similar laws with our own mechanism for emails the day wont be far when we will be in the top 3  Spam Control Laws.

Avatar of sachin kamthe
Sachin Kamthe

9 thoughts on “Top 3 Email Spam Laws: Detailed Guide”

  1. Avatar of neha chandan
    Neha Chandan

    It will better if these acts are given in tabular format. How different is email compliance in different countries. Is it possible to post an article by me on this subject.

  2. Avatar of prakash s n
    Prakash S N

    1)
    Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation 2014 (CASL)
    says About Email sender should have permission(Consent) to send mail to the receiver or They should have option to opt Unsubscribe if receiver is not interested on Particular Subject/Service/goods/Business Etc.if Subscriber opt ,unsubscribe Option E mail sender should react on suggestion within 10 days as per law & Reaction should perform without any cost to the receiver..
    2)
    United States -Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003
    United States -Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 (CAN-SPAM Act of 2003)
    Says about Email sender Cannot send any type of Marketing /pornography mails without Written or Oral Consent(Permission) Sender Should mention all details like Name Send by ,email by Etc as per Rule of CAN SPAM act 2003 with an optional Button of Unsubscribe . sender should React on unsubscribe responce with 10 days if receiver opt Unsubscribe .
    3)
    United Kingdom-Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003
    Above law also says Sender should not send mail without consent ( permission of Receiver ) Unlikely if receiver is existing customer or negotiator of service or Product buying options .Still service provider follow the rules of opt out option like Unsubscribe or sender can mention Contact Phone number to opt out option.

    Yes All above Rules are More or Less Similar or Says about Security of Citizens of Respective country. Still it Says there are Spammers in Each Developed countries also..Rules Can avoid them up to 70 to 90% Which depends on society & Government implementation seriousness. India Can use this Rules for betterment of Indian Citizens ,Only if it does not allow discrimination of Rules to the higher society Citizens within India. Rules should not break by Government Even the person related to VIP Family.
    If indian government implement this rules ,i hope the better result comes under Local language conversion options to read Rules & regulations of the Government.
    Regards
    Prakash S N
    Manglore-Karnatak-India

  3. Avatar of monisha periasamy
    Monisha Periasamy

    Rules are much necessary to be known, as we think email marketing is about sending templates with the call to action. Especially, sending emails across broader. International business, Import to export. Informative blog.

  4. Avatar of akhil sehrawat
    Akhil Sehrawat

    The need of the hour is that India should have its own anti-spam law, like Canada, USA and Uk. It will build trust between buyer and seller. Due to this loophole in Indian law somewhere trust of people on email marketing is declining.

  5. Most ecommerce merchants understand the value of keeping a list of customers’ email addresses. By keeping such a list, merchants can send targeted, relevant offers to their clients, which can increase revenue and, also, keep customers engaged.

    Some merchants rent or purchase lists to increase their marketing reach, while others use inbound marketing tactics, often by providing free information or advice, to entice visitors to leave their email addresses, thereby increasing the size of their list.

    With so many options, it is worth revisiting the basic legal issues that surround email marketing.

    It is important to draw a distinction between U.S. law and the laws of Canada and the European Union

  6. All the laws state that we need to respect people, don’t try to cheat, be genuine and provide your details, don’t bombard people with emails, especially if they do not like. You can make a mistake once .. but don’t repeat the same mistake again, especially when the person at the receiving end has brought it to your notice!! All said and done there are ways to increase your email list if you don’t have an intention to cheat or mislead people.

  7. Avatar of gauri choudhari
    Gauri Choudhari

    Best part is this is written in very simple language plus covered all the important aspects. very informative.

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