Marketers Struggle to Understand, Comply With New Federal E-Mail Spam Law

Anonymous writes "CAN-SPAM Compliance Company Formed to Promote Responsible E-mail Marketing SAN DIEGO, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Beginning January 1, 2004, consumers can
expect to see less spam littering their e-mail inboxes, thanks to the new
CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 recently signed into law by President Bush. While no one
will bemoan the demise of spam, marketing professionals now are scrambling to
comply with the complex and labor-intensive requirements of this new federal
e-mail law -- or face fines which could, in some cases, exceed $2 million
dollars.

"In the long run, the CAN-SPAM Act will benefit consumers and responsible
marketers by cracking down on the spam that annoys people and interferes with
the delivery of and attention paid to legitimate e-mail advertising," says
Michael C. O'Brien, Co-Founder and CEO of CAN-SPAM Compliance Company LLC
(http://www.can-spamcompliance.com) a firm that provides turnkey e-mail compliance
solutions for advertisers. "In the short term, however, marketers are
struggling to come to grips with the labor- and cost-intensive requirements of
the CAN-SPAM Act."

Under the CAN-SPAM Act, senders of commercial e-mail, e-newsletters or
other electronic business communication -- effectively any business that sends
e-mail to its customers or potential customers -- are required to: * Provide an opt-out tool for recipients
* Process opt-out or "unsubscribe" requests within 10 business days
* Use truthful e-mail subject lines
* Utilize legitimate return e-mail addresses and physical postal
addresses
* Clearly label commercial e-mail as advertising Compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act may sound simple. But when you consider
that nearly every business that sends commercial e-mail utilizes multiple
firms to send that e-mail, managing the content of the e-mails and the
continual updating of the opt-out or "unsubscribe" lists within the required
10-day timeframe can quickly become overwhelming for advertisers.

"For many businesses, the CAN-SPAM Act could necessitate the development
of dedicated in-house 'CAN-SPAM' compliance departments and tens of thousands
of dollars in additional operating costs," said O'Brien. "We formed CAN-SPAM
Compliance Company LLC to assist responsible marketers in complying with the
CAN-SPAM Act in the easiest and most cost-effective manner -- by outsourcing
the new federal anti-spam law compliance function."

CAN-SPAM Compliance Company LLC (CCC) helps responsible marketers
establish, implement and maintain, with due care, commercially reasonable
practices and procedures in order for the marketers to comply with the
CAN-SPAM Act. The company offers a turnkey solution that addresses every
aspect of the new e-mail compliance law, including: Opt-Out Management: CCC takes on the burden of maintaining an unsubscribe
list for its clients with turnkey, single-point, real-time management of
opt-out requests, including list distribution to outside e-mail vendors. Consulting Services: To protect its clients, CCC provides insertion
orders that clearly define each party's e-mail compliance responsibilities
under the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. CCC also keeps its clients briefed on
breaking developments, legislation and litigation surrounding the CAN-SPAM
Act. Advisory Services: As a matter of due care and commercially reasonable
practice and procedure, CCC carefully reviews each e-mail for CAN-SPAM Act
compliance prior to distribution. Reporting: CCC provides complete list reporting to allow clients to
benchmark their e-mail service providers -- tracking which ESPs are delivering
the cleanest lists. CCC also provides full reporting of opens and click-thrus
as tools to measure an e-mail campaign's effectiveness. For more information, visit http://www.can-spamcompliance.com or call toll-free,
800.777.1984. CAN-SPAM Compliance Company LLC was founded in 2003 to help responsible
marketers comply with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. Based in San Diego,
California, the firm offers the e-mail marketing industry's only turnkey
CAN-SPAM compliance solution. What is the New CAN-SPAM Law?

Signed by President Bush in December 2003 and going into effect
January 1, 2004, the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of
Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003) Law is aimed at
preventing SPAM by prohibiting senders of unsolicited commercial e-mail from
disguising their identities by using a false return address or misleading
subject line. The law also bars senders from harvesting addresses off of
websites and requires e-mails to allow recipients (via an "Unsubscribe"
option) to indicate that they do not want future mass mailings. For more
information, please visit http://www.can-spamcompliance.com.
"