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The CAN-SPAM Act (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing) is a United States law enacted in 2003 that establishes requirements for commercial email messages. It gives recipients the right to stop receiving emails and sets penalties of up to $51,744 per violation for businesses that fail to comply with its provisions.
CAN-SPAM compliance protects your business from significant legal and financial consequences. The FTC can impose penalties of up to $51,744 per non-compliant email, and repeated violations can result in criminal prosecution. Beyond legal risks, non-compliance damages sender reputation with ISPs, leading to deliverability issues and potential blacklisting. Maintaining compliance also builds trust with recipients and supports long-term email marketing success.
The CAN-SPAM Act mandates seven key requirements for commercial emails: accurate header information identifying the sender, non-deceptive subject lines that reflect the message content, clear identification that the message is an advertisement, inclusion of a valid physical postal address, a visible and functional unsubscribe mechanism, processing opt-out requests within 10 business days, and monitoring third-party email marketing conducted on your behalf. These requirements apply to any commercial message promoting a product or service, regardless of whether recipients are existing customers.
The FTC can impose civil penalties of up to $51,744 per non-compliant email. For aggravated violations involving harvested addresses, dictionary attacks, or falsified headers, additional penalties apply and criminal prosecution is possible with potential imprisonment.
No, CAN-SPAM does not require prior consent to send commercial emails. However, it does require a functioning opt-out mechanism and prompt honoring of unsubscribe requests. This differs from regulations like GDPR and CASL, which require explicit consent before sending marketing emails.
Transactional emails (order confirmations, shipping notifications, account updates) are largely exempt from CAN-SPAM requirements. However, if a transactional email contains significant commercial content, it may be classified as commercial and subject to the full requirements.
Both the company initiating the message and the company sending it share legal responsibility for compliance. If you hire a third party to handle email marketing, you remain liable for violations. Ensure contracts include compliance requirements and audit vendor practices regularly.
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