Question: What is CAN SPAM Act?
Answer: The CAN-SPAM Act is a law that sets the rules for commercial email.
It establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have you stop emailing them, and spells out tough penalties for violations.
The CAN-SPAM Act spells out the rules for email marketers, whether their intentions are good or bad. If you’re sending emails for commercial use, you have to do the following:
- Don’t use false or misleading header information. Your “From,” “To,” “Reply-To,” and routing information – including the originating domain name and email address – must be accurate and identify the person or business who initiated the message.
- Don’t use deceptive subject lines. The subject line must accurately reflect the content of the message.
- Include an unsubscribe method. Your message must include a clear and conspicuous explanation of how the recipient can opt out of getting email from you in the future
- Timely response to unsubscribe requests. You must honor a recipient’s opt-out request within 10 business days.
- If sending for commercial uses, you need to include a physical address. This can be your current street address, a post office box you’ve registered with the U.S. Postal Service, or a private mailbox
- While not explicitly banned, sending to people who have not opted in is discouraged
Looking for more information on this topic?
Check out what’s new in the toolbox: