Hello.
Spam is serious business. So serious, in fact, that it sometimes results in
expensive lawsuits. If you’re a MailChimp customer, chances are you
already know this. But maybe you recently started an email-marketing project
for a client—or, worse, your boss—who told you, “Look, we’re not spammers
here, so we don’t have to worry about those CAN-SPAM laws.” Next time,
you can hand them this guide. Or maybe just print it out and quietly put it on
their desk. Your secret’s safe with us.
Obviously, you should never, ever send emails to a purchased list . You
should also never dump your address book into your email-subscriber list.
This is all common sense. But there are subtle mistakes that can get you
into trouble as well. Whether it’s simple, human forgetfulness that caused
you to leave out a physical mailing address in your email footer or the
innocent misuse of the word “free” in a subject line, it’s easier than you might
think to get pulled over by a spam cop. This guide runs through some big
brands who’ve had to pay huge settlements to the FTC for seemingly
harmless mistakes. Read it, pass it on, and stay out of trouble.
Rules and
Regulations
Sending email marketing comes along with quite a few guidelines and laws.
They’re often complicated, and they frequently change. Stay on top of these
rules and regulations, and consult a lawyer if you’re ever in doubt.
Understand CAN-SPAM
The CAN-SPAM act is the best place to start. Understanding the rules laid
out in this landmark act of 2003 is the essential first step to sending a clean
campaign. Consult your lawyer. Consult your physician before you consult
your lawyer. Consult whoever it takes. Just learn these rules, because they
are the basis on which you can get sued.
ISPs have rules, too
Unfortunately, the rules don’t stop at CAN-SPAM. If you send bulk email,
even if its permission-based, to recipients who have email accounts at major
ISPs, you need to abide by the ISPs’ rules too. You can usually find them at
their postmaster pages. For example, postmaster.yahoo.com.
Know where your email is going
Many countries have different spam laws, which means that, even if you’re
sending from the United States, if your email goes to Europe, Canada, the
United Kingdom, or Australia, then you have to abide by different regulations.
Even sending to and from certain U.S. states (*cough* California *cough*)
entails different rules. The bottom line is that if you’re sending to or from
these territories, you should make sure you know their specific rules or
consult with a lawyer who knows them.
A Few Notable
Spam Lawsuits
“C’mon, it’s just an email. What’s the worst that can happen?” Actually, you’d
be surprised. Below is a list of email-related lawsuits that have made
headlines in recent years, and what you, as a MailChimp customer, can learn
from them.
Simple, innocent mistakes can be costly
Lawsuit: Kodak Imaging Network, $32,000
“The Federal Trade Commission has charged two internet marketers with
violating the CAN-SPAM Act by failing to offer an opt-out method or honor
consumers’ right to opt out of receiving future marketing mailings within 10
days of making the request. One marketer also failed to include a valid
physical postal address, which also is required by the CAN-SPAM Act.”
Takeaway: It’s been said that the Kodak incident was an accident, where
someone mistakenly sent a campaign before it was complete with
unsubscribe links and postal address. Simple, innocent mistakes can be
costly
Links are safer than “Reply To” unsubscribes
Lawsuit: YesMail, $50,000
“The FTC’s complaint alleges that Yesmail’s spam filtering software filtered
out certain ‘reply to’ unsubscribe requests from recipients as ‘spam,’ which
resulted in Yesmail failing to honor unsubscribe requests by sending
thousands of commercial email messages to recipients more than 10
business days after their requests.”
Takeaway: Using the “reply-to us and we’ll remove you” method is legal, but
if those replies get accidentally deleted by your company’s spam filter, you
could get sued. Have you ever seen a legit email get flagged by your
company’s spam filter? It happens all the time. Safer to use a link that
instantly removes people from your list.
Creative subject lines can be deceptive
Lawsuit: Jumpstart, $900,000
“’These defendants intentionally used personal messages as a cover-up for
commercial messages,’ said Lydia Parnes, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of
Consumer Protection. ‘Deceptive subject lines and headers not only violate
the CAN-SPAM Act, but also consumer trust.’”
Takeaway: In your effort to “get the sale” and make people open your emails,
it’s important to not get overly creative with your subject lines to the point of
deception.
Your third parties are your responsibility
Lawsuit: Optin Global, $475,00
“In April 2005, the FTC and the Attorney General of California charged that
the defendants used third-party affiliates or ‘button pushers’ to send spam
hawking mortgage loans and other products and services.”
Takeaway: Do you use third party affiliate marketers to sell your product? Do
you closely monitor how they send and collect email addresses?
Free can be expensive
Lawsuit: ValueClick, $2.9 million
“According to the FTC, ValueClick subsidiary Hi-Speed Media used
deceptive emails, banner ads, and pop-ups to drive consumers to its Web
sites. The emails and online ads claimed that consumers were eligible for
‘free’ gifts, including laptops, iPods, and high-value gift cards…”
Takeaway: Nothing sells like free. But are there any catches to your offer? If
so, using “free” in your subject line might be seen as deceptive.
Correctly identify yourself
Lawsuit: Balsam v. Trancos, Inc., $87,000
Trancos sent out several email campaigns identifying the sender in the from
line as various nonexistent organizations, including “Paid Survey, Your
Business, Christian Dating, Your Promotion, Bank Wire Transfer Available,
Dating Generic, and Join Elite.” The court held that “header information in a
commercial e-mail is falsified or misrepresented for purposes of [California
Law] when it uses a sender domain name that neither identifies the actual
sender on its face nor is readily traceable to the sender using a publicly
available online database such as WHOIS.” The court awarded the individual
plaintiff $7,000 in damages and more than $80,000 in attorney fees.
Takeaway: It’s not just federal law you have to worry about. You also need to
comply with state laws. Creativity is great for campaigns but a bad idea for
the From field or really any part of the header.
The boss isn't always right
Inet Ventures Pty Ltd., $15.15 million
The FTC said that individual officers of a company can be liable if they
participate directly in the spamming or if they knew or should have known
about the deceptive practices. “The FTC charged that, using the 'Canadian
Healthcare' brand name and other labels, the defendants’ spam messages
deceptively marketed a male-enhancement pill, prescription drugs, and a
weight-loss pill in violation of federal law. They falsely claimed that the
medications came from a U.S.-licensed pharmacy that dispenses FDAapproved generic versions of drugs such as Levitra, Avodart, Cialis,
Propecia, Viagra, Lipitor, Celebrex, and Zoloft. In fact, the defendants do not
operate a U.S.-licensed pharmacy, and the drugs they sold were shipped
from India, had not been approved by the FDA, and were potentially unsafe.”
Takeaway: Just because your boss says it’s ok, does not mean it's ok. If
something seems like it could be deceptive, speak up and stop participating.
CAN-SPAM can't be skimmed
ATM Global Systems, Inc., $442,900 (2008)
Emails contained false originating email addresses, failed to include clear
and conspicuous notification to recipients of their ability to unsubscribe, and
did not include a valid physical postal address.
Sili Neutraceuticals, LLC, $2.5 million
“Judge Coar found that the defendants violated the FTC Act by falsely
claiming that the hoodia products cause rapid and substantial and permanent
weight loss, and that the HGH products contain human growth hormone
and/or cause a clinically meaningful increase in growth hormone levels and/or
will turn back or reverse the aging process. The CAN-SPAM Act violations
were sending commercial e-mail messages that have misleading subject
headings, and that fail to provide clear and conspicuous notice of the
opportunity to decline to receive further spam from the sender, and/or a
functioning return e-mail address, and the senders’ valid physical postal
address.”
Takeaway: Each of CAN-SPAM’s requirements are there for a reason.
Leaving out any of them opens you up to liability. Luckily, the requirements
are pretty easy: Always have a working unsubscribe link, a valid address,
and accurate information in your header.