Marketing Emails Can Get You in Legal Trouble

Despite the fact that we all seem to get way more marketing emails that we’d ever need, and that most of us don’t open many of them, email marketing remains a large part of a corporate marketing strategy. But emailing doesn’t come without risks, because there are laws that dictate how and when you can email someone with marketing material.

The Can-Spam Act

The federal law that governs marketing emails is called Can-Spam, and the Act covers any marketing, business, or commercial emails. It does not have anything to do with personal emails, and to be covered under the act, the emails have to be marketing related or trying to sell or promote a product or service.

The law also doesn’t cover emails that relate to prior conversations—so, for example if you were emailing a client thanking them for their business, and also mentioned another product or service that you provide, that would also be OK, and not covered under the act, because you had a pre-existing relationship with that particular customer.

What the Act Requires

If an email is covered under the Act (that is, the email is of the kind and nature that must comply with the Can-Spam Act), the email must clearly state somewhere that it is an ad and that it is for marketing purposes. Your email must also say where you were located but a simple address for your company will work.

The Act does have some other requirements that can be vague and ambiguous. For example, the act prohibits misleading advertisements through email, or using deceptive titles or descriptions to induce or fool people into opening your email. But that doesn’t mean that your email subject lines have to be completely truthful, so long as they don’t deceive.

For example, typical email language like “you won’t want to miss this deal,” are fine, as would something like “We’re the best IT professionals in the world,” something that is clearly an exaggeration.

Opting Out

The part of the Can-Spam act that most people know about, is that consumers must have a way to opt out of future emails from you, and that option must be contained in the email itself, and must be conspicuous enough for the reader to see it.

Any requests to opt out, must be honored by the email sender, within 30 days. And although you can give the person options before opting out—for example, asking them if they’d just like fewer emails—you can’t require that the recipient provide you any further or additional personal information, as a condition of opting out.

Who Can Sue?

The Can-Spam act has no private right of action, which means individual consumers cannot sue you for violating the law. But the government can, and should the government get complaints about your marketing mails, and should those complaints sound like they violate Can-Spam, you can bet the government may look into the complaints.

Handle your marketing strategies safely, and without legal problems. Let the West Palm Beach commercial litigation lawyers at Pike & Lustig help you navigate the legal waters surrounding your business decisions.

Sources:

forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2018/06/06/is-your-email-marketing-compliant-with-the-can-spam-act/#2ae099932d0d

ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business