You
may have already heard about what I am going
to tell you, but I bet you anything you haven't
heard what I am going to tell you next.
The obvious...
The first "Major" suit has been filed by the
Big Four (AOL, Earthlink, Yahoo, and MSN).
They are nailing the guys who send us many of
those Viagra, prescription drugs and
"enlargement" ads.
And I say, Good!
I can do with a little less of that stuff in my
mailbox. And if they don't comply, well heck,
you can't say they haven't been warned. I mean,
please, at least give us an legitimate way to
opt out!
I think this is the type of lawsuit we all
expected to happen.
You know, The big ISPs going after the BIG guys
who send out millions upon millions of email
with falsified headers and NO opt out mechanism.
But what I didn't expect was this...
Two days prior to this "MAJOR" mass media lawsuit
from the big guys, was a very little known lawsuit
that was filed against Bobvila.com a Home
Improvement Marketer.
What is even more surprising is that it was filed
by a lesser known ISP, Hypertouch.com, (out of
Foster City, CA)
They are claiming that Bobvila.com and one of
his marketing affiliates, BlueStream Media sent
out email advertisements that do not comply with
the CAN-SPAM act and are asking for $100 per
email violation. =:0
I don't know what part of CAN-SPAM they violated
(or even if they did) but if you aren't in
compliance yet, you better be!
This shows us that the little ISP can go after
the little marketer!
And, I am not a lawyer, so please don't take this
as legal advice. But, I am going to reprint below
what "I" have found the CAN-SPAM act to prohibit.
So if you are doing any of them, QUIT!
The CAN-SPAM act..
1) Prohibits using or falsifying email header
information.
2) Prohibits the use of open relay to "deceive
or mislead recipients" about the origin of a
commercial email.
3) Prohibits "harvesting," "dictionary
attacks"
and "spoofing."
4) Prohibits commercial email without an
unsubscribe process.
5) Prohibits automated methods to sign up for
free Web-based email accounts. (Like Yahoo or
Hotmail)
6) Prohibits registering for "5 or more" email
accounts or "2 or more domain names" with false
information and using them to send commercial
e-mail messages.
---the above punishable by 1-3 years in prison
for first offense--------
7) Prohibits sending "sexually oriented
material" unless it includes a label to be
created by the FTC. And, you don't have to do
that if it is opt in. (Violations punishable by
up to five years in prison and a $250,000
fine)
8) The FTC to produce a report on possible
mandated subject line labeling, such as ADV
(required in CA) for advertising. As currently
drafted, the Can Spam Act requires UCE to carry
such information identifying it as an
advertisement or solicitation but does not
mandate any specific language.
9) Organizations that send commercial email
must include a valid U.S. postal address or P.O
box.
Last month I recommended two resources to find out
more about the act and I am going to list them here
once again just in case you want to get more info
The first one is Bruce Safan's recording of a call
that I was on. It is extreamly valuable, not just
on CAN-SPAM stuff, but on general legal stuff
every online marketer should know.
http://www.spamlaws.com/federal/108s877.html
That is an affiliate link, so if you buy it, let
me know and I will give you my commission on it
after I get it from Bruce.
The next is an e-book written by one of our
very own e-filtrate members.
http://UseTheGoodStuff.com/choppedham
Stay tuned!
Dori
dori/at/e-filtate.com
http://www.e-filtrate.com
209-274-6363
3451 Dry Creek Road
Ione, California 95640
