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August 31, 2010

A Review of the CAN SPAM Act

The CAN SPAM Act or The Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 was developed to deter the flow of spam across email systems. It was enacted January 1^st, 2004 establishing a legal standard for e-mail spam

Spam Statistics

Email spam is currently two-thirds of all messages spread across the internet. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has found that 58 percent of all spam messages originate in the United States. Since the U.S. has the largest spam problem, the government needs to take action first.

A Legal Compromise

The CAN SPAM Act has brought together many different businesses and people. E-Commerce business owners, internet service providers, consumer groups, direct marketing lobbies and enterprises have all compromised on the details of the act to curb spam. These messages affect each of these entities whether it’s clogging networks, eating storage space or unleashing viruses.

The Main Controversy

The opt-out provision is the most controversial issue with the act. It requires each commercial electronic message correspondent to provide an opportunity to be removed from the email list in every message. If the recipient chooses to opt-out, they must be removed from the email list within 10 days and receive a letter confirming this decision.

The major concern with this provision is that it perpetuates the very act CAN SPAM is attempting to eliminate: spam. This act is essentially giving spammers the right to send out these messages as long as there’s an opt-out option. This doesn’t decrease the amount of spam sent thus keeping networks clogged and server resources consumed.

Enforcement of the Act

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) oversees and enforces this act. Those that violate the act can face punishments of imprisonment, fines or both. The maximum allowable fine is $1 million. A few other departments that can enforce the CAN SPAM Act include:

• The Federal Communications Commission
• The Securities and Exchange Commission
• The Federal Reserve Board
• The National Credit Union Administration
• The Secretary of Transportation
• The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

The CAN SPAM act could be an airtight law if it weren’t for the opt-out provision. Although there are plenty of agencies enforcing the law, to slide through the loophole spammers simply must put an opt-out clause at the bottom of each message. Hopefully in the future this act will be challenged with the opt-out clause removed.

Tags: CAN SPAM Act,  spam,  Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act,  email,  UNCTAD,  United Nations Conference on Trade and Development,  Federal Trade Commission