This week the Federal Trade Commission released new rules under the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. After years in the proposal stage, the FTC has finally put forth a revision of the original act, which aims to stop “SPAM” (Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing.) These changes were created to clarify the existing rules and they require the following:

1. Email recipients must not be required to do anything but reply to an email or visit a single web page to opt out of mailings. They must only provide an email address to opt out.

2. The definition of “sender” has been altered to make it easier to determine who of multiple named parties in an email are held responsible for the advertisement.

3. Senders can use a valid post office box or personal address as a physical mailing address.

4. The law now includes the term “person” to not limit the act to just natural persons.

Although the changes are not drastic for responsible mailers, the first new requirement is one to acknowledge. If you are currently requiring your subscribers to do anything but reply to an email or click an unsubscribe link, you can be held accountable under the law.

For more information, visit the FTC’s website.